Police detain 'blue energy' inventor over scandal

Slamet Susanto ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Yogyakarta   |  Fri, 08/29/2008 10:45 AM  |  The Archipelago

Yogyakarta Police detained Thursday suspect Djoko Suprapto, who had reportedly invented a controversial alternative form of energy called "Blue Energy", for deceiving the Yogyakarta Muhammadiyah University (UMY) and causing the university Rp 1.5 billion (US$163,043) in losses.

"We will move him to a police cell this afternoon, or tomorrow morning at the latest," Head of Yogyakarta Police's special crime unit Adj. Sr. Comr. Agung Yudha Wibowo said.

Police finally decided to detain the suspect after repeatedly failing to intensively question the 48-year-old suspect, due to reported health problems.

Djoko was named a suspect in the scandal on July 10 and has been detained in police custody since July 25.

Thursday's decision to move Djoko to a police cell came after a team of doctors, who treated him last month, issued an opinion stating that he was healthy.

"If he is declared sick again we will send him back to the hospital. We don't want to violate human rights by detaining an sick person," Agung said.

The graft case started when Djoko and his friends offered UMY earlier this year a project to develop alternative fuel using seawater as the main raw material.

The university later launched the new fuel claimed to be able to directly substitute for fossil-based fuels as "Banyugeni" -- which literally means fire water.

It also agreed to develop a power plant, called "Jodhipati", in Bantul region that Djoko claimed would be able to generate three megawatts of electricity.

The university reportedly spent Rp 1.3 billion on research and development and another Rp 200 million on operational costs just to find that the proposed power plant did not work. UMY later decided to report it to the police.

Before the case erupted, Djoko claimed to have invented an alternative energy source which became known as "Blue Energy", a name which was reportedly taken up by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

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