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unun Nurbaeti, a key person in the 2004 vote-buying scandal at the House of Representatives (DPR), stood trial on Friday at the Jakarta Corruption Court, where prosecutors indicted the businesswoman for bribery.

Nunun, the alleged go-between in the case, is believed to have important information to reveal about the relationship between the mastermind and benefactor of the scandal, which centers on the election of Miranda S. Goeltom as Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor.

At least 33 lawmakers have been sent to jail for accepting bribes in connection with the case.

“I am actually not feeling well, your honor, but I am ready,” Nunun, who appeared at the court at 8:30 a.m., told the panel of judges. However, she said she would be able to attend the whole trial session.

Prosecutors from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) charged Nunun with bribing public officials under Article 5 (1) b of the 2001 Corruption Law, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

“She is accused of distributing a number of traveler’s checks worth a total of Rp 20.85 billion [US$ 2.32 million] to lawmakers at the House’s Commission IX [then overseeing banking and finance],” said prosecutor Andi Suharlis during the trial. “The bribes were paid in relation to Miranda’s selection.”

Prosecutors said Nunun also helped Miranda, now a suspect in the case, secure her successful bid by facilitating meetings with several lawmakers.

Prosecutors said Nunun’s confidante, Ari Malangjudo, helped her in delivering the bribes.

Presiding judge Sudjatmiko ordered Nunun to stand trial after she said she understood the prosecutor’s indictment. “Yes, I understand [the indictment],” she said.

The trial was adjourned until next Wednesday.

Nunun’s lawyer Mulyaharja told the court that his client would not demur. He also asked the court to release Nunun from detention to seek outpatient medical treatment.

The court rejected the request, saying the authority lies with the KPK.

Instead, the judges allowed Nunun to meet her personal doctor at Abdi Waluyo Hospital in Menteng, Central Jakarta, for one session only, but ordered the KPK to escort her there and return her immediately afterward to the Pondok Bambu detention center, East Jakarta.

In the latest development in the case, prosecutors also accused Nunun of embezzling Rp 1 billion by ordering her secretary, Sumarni, to cash 20 traveler’s checks. Sumarni later wired the money to Nunun’s bank account.

Prosecutors said the Rp 20.85 billion and Rp 1 billion in traveler’s checks were part of a total of Rp 24 billion in bribes in 480 traveler’s checks.

However, they did not mention in the indictment where the rest of the traveler’s checks were or mention the name of suspected benefactor.

Previous court proceedings have revealed that the checks were purchased by a company in 2004 to buy small oil palm plantations from local farmers in North Sumatra, but the paper trail went cold as Ferry Yan, who brokered the purchases, died in 2007.

The company, PT First Mujur Plantation and Industry, used money from Bank Artha Graha to purchase 480 checks from Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII).

Miranda told The Jakarta Post recently that she knew nothing about the bribery scheme behind her selection. “I did meet several lawmakers before the ‘fit-and-proper’ test, but only to deliver my vision and my knowledge as a worthy candidate,” she said.

Last December, the KPK brought Nunun back to the country after her arrest by Thai police in Bangkok. The antigraft body named Nunun a suspect in May 2011, but she fled to Singapore before the KPK could issue a travel ban in March 2010.

Before her arrest, Nunun managed to dodge KPK questioning and court subpoenas using “memory loss” as an excuse to undergo medical treatment in Singapore.