Fact-finding team wants culprits punished

The head of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's fact-finding team investigating the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) debacle, Adnan Buyung Nasution, said anyone proven to have masterminded the debacle should be punished.

The team's request will be included in its recommendations, which will be submitted to the President on Monday, the deadline for the team to finish its probe. The team was given two weeks to complete its investigation of the case.

"We are not going to request more time from the President to probe further. It is now up to the President to determine whether or not further investigations are needed," Adnan said at the presidential advisory council office in Jakarta on Friday.

The case involves an alleged conspiracy between a number of high-ranking officers from the National Police and the Attorney General's Office to weaken the KPK by allegedly incriminating two of its deputy chairmen, Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, in a bribery scandal.

The bribery allegation was made based on testimony by former KPK chief Antasari Azhar. He testified that a number of KPK leaders had received bribes from Anggoro Widjojo, a bribery suspect in a case being investigated by the KPK. Antasari was said to have obtained and recorded the information on tape in a personal meeting with Anggoro in Singapore.

Previously, the team had issued an interim recommendation for the allegations against Chandra and Bibit to be dropped due to a lack of solid evidence. The team had also called for the police to arrest Anggoro's younger brother, Anggodo Widjojo, considered to be the main culprit in the alleged conspiracy to frame Chandra and Bibit based on another controversial tape, publicly played at the Constitutional Court recently.

Yudhoyono, however, opted to hand the responsibility and authority of interpreting the team's recommendations to the police and the AGO.

Both the police and the AGO then said that despite the fact that they respected the team's recommendation, they would continue their investigations into the KPK deputy chairmen, citing their confidence in obtaining solid evidence.

Todung Mulya Lubis, another team member, told reporters at the House of Regional Representatives in Jakarta on Friday that the team would also include a number of additional recommendations to the President.

"Our final recommendation will also include advice to the President to fully reform the National Police, the AGO and the KPK," he said.

Todung also said he hoped the President would follow up the team's recommendation with concrete actions.