Graft suspect summons Nazaruddin as witness

The legal defense of Wafid Muharam, a former secretary of the Youth and Sports Ministry who is currently on trial for alleged bribery, has requested graft suspect Muhammad Nazaruddin to appear as a witness in his case, which is linked to a tender for a construction project for the SEA Games 2011.

"This case is tied to Nazaruddin's [case]. The charges and the case files all mention Nazaruddin's name," Wafid's lawyer Ferry Amahorseya said Wednesday.

Ferry added that the defense team wanted Nazaruddin to appear as a witness in Wafid's favor.

"There is no testimony from Nazaruddin in the dossier. This case would be abnormal if Nazaruddin was not present [in court]," he said as reported by tempointeraktif.com.

Wafid allegedly received Rp 3.2 billion (US$374,400) from PT Duta Graha Indah (DGI) as a kickback from the company after it was awarded a contract for the construction of the athlete's village for the games.

PT DGI belongs to Nazaruddin, the former treasurer of the Democratic Party.