RI envoy to Thailand named suspect in graft case

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 10/27/2009 6:35 PM  |  National

The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has named Indonesian Ambassador to Thailand Muhammad Hatta as a suspect for allegedly misusing embassy funds worth Rp 2.5 billion (US$ 250,000).

“Based on testimonies from other suspects and witnesses, we have enough evidence to declare Muhammad Hatta another suspect in the graft case,” AGO spokesman Didiek Darmanto said Tuesday.

Hatta is the first active envoy to have been implicated in a corruption case.
 
Didiek added that Hatta, a Golkar Party politician, and the other suspects, deputy chief of mission Djumantoro Purbo and the embassy treasurer Suhaeni, had allegedly conspired to misuse state funds from the 2008 budget.
 
“We are scheduled to question Muhammad Hatta [ on Wednesday] morning for further clarification,” he said. “It remains uncertain if he will be put in custody.”
 
On Oct. 11, six AGO investigators visited Thailand to seek clarification from 17 witnesses, including Djumantoro and Suhaeni, about the case.

Djumantoro and Suhaeni were declared suspects in August.

Hatta helped then vice president Jusuf Kalla to facilitate communication between South Thailand Muslim group leaders and the Thailand government in Bogor, West Java, last year. (ewd)

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