Luwu regent, speaker named suspects

Andi Hajramurni , The Jakarta Post , Makassar | Thu, 07/03/2008 10:38 AM | The Archipelago

The regent, legislative speaker and 28 current and former councillors of Luwu, South Sulawesi, have been named in a collective graft case involving Rp 1.05 billion (US$116,000) in regency budget funds.

Former Luwu regency secretary Andi Baso Gani, and former Luwu treasurer Sabila were also named suspects, bringing the total number to 32.

South Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office Wednesday handed over case files and suspects to the Makassar District Prosecutor's Office to be indicted and subsequently tried at the Makassar District Court.

None of the 32 suspects were detained, returning directly to Luwu after being questioned at the Makassar District Prosecutor's Office.

The assistant of special crimes division at the South Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office, Godang Riadi, said the suspects were not held on the grounds that they had met Article 21 of the Criminal Code by promising not to evade trial, conceal evidence or repeat the offense.

"They are still holding posts, or working, and are unlikely to run away or conceal evidence because they have returned the state funds they allegedly misappropriated. So, we don't have to detain them," Godang said.

Luwu Regent Basmin Mattayang allegedly misused funds from the regency secretariat's contingency budget, handed out as incentives, end-of-term funds and housing for 29 councilors in the 1999-2004 term. The funds had previously been put aside for social missions and disaster mitigation.

The case came to light in 2006 when the suspects jointly returned funds totaling Rp 791 million, while the remaining sum was deducted for tax.

The suspects allegedly violated Article 2 and 3 of Law No. 31/1999 on corruption eradication, and Law No. 20/2001, and could face a sentence of at least four years in prison.

Basmin denied the charges, claiming he had approved the transfer of the contingent funds after a request by the Luwu legislature.

Luwu legislative speaker Hidayat Nur Talib and the other active and former councilors said they were not aware of the disputed funds.

"We have returned the funds... what else do you want. Why are we still named as suspects," Hidayat, who was vice speaker at the time the alleged graft took place, said.

Court proceedings will be held at the Makassar District Court -- despite the offense taking place in Luwu -- on security grounds supported by an edict from the Supreme Court.

Basmin has currently nominated himself in the gubernatorial election slated for October.

Comments (0) | Post comment

A | A | A |