Haposan admits asking Sjahril to approach Susno

Graft suspect Haposan Hutagalung has admitted that he asked alleged case broker Sjahril Djohan to approach the former National Police detective chief Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji to help settle the PT Salma Arowana Lestari embezzlement case.

Haposan told a hearing Monday that he requested the favor from Sjahril because he was certain the later had a close relationship with Susno.

Haposan asked Sjahril to help speed up the investigation into the Salma Arowana case, as reported by his client, Singaporean Ho Kian Huat. Previously, Huat had filed a lawsuit against Salma Arowana’s owner, Salma Anwar.

The case was under investigation by the detective unit.

“The case had been delayed for two years, despite the strong evidence we had. So, I talked to Pak Sjahril, who I knew had a good relationship with then detective chief Pak Susno,” Haposan testified during Sjahril’s trial at South Jakarta District Court as quoted by kompas.com.

At the meeting, Haposan added, Sjahril said he would help him, saying that Susno knew Comr. Mohammad Arafat Enanie, one of the detectives on the Salma Arowana case.

Arafat is now a suspect in a graft case involving former tax officer Gayus Halomoan Tambunan.