Court to continue governor's trial

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 11/24/2006 12:31 PM

JAKARTA: The Anticorruption Court decided here Thursday to continue the graft trial of East Kalimantan Governor Suwarna Abdul Fatah.

Presiding judge Gusrizal said the indictment against Suwarna and the defense plea by his lawyers must still be proven in the trial.

""The prosecutors's indictment against the defendant is valid and the defense plea by the lawyers is unacceptable,"" Gusrizal said.

Suwarna, who is being detained for the trial, said he was not surprised by the ruling. ""I'm not disappointed. I had predicted it,"" he said.

The governor is indicted for giving the go-ahead to fictitious companies to exploit timber in East Kalimantan, a crime that caused Rp 440 billion (US47.3 million) in state losses. --JP

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