Siti Fadilah Supari: (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)

Just 15 days after the National Police handed former health minister Siti Fadilah Supari'€™s case to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the much feared antigraft body declared her a suspect on Friday.

The KPK charged Siti, who is as an advisor to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, with causing state losses by abusing her authority during her 2004-2009 tenure as a minister in a Health Ministry medical equipment procurement in 2005 worth Rp 15.5 billion (US$1.33 million).

'€œShe allegedly misused her authority to enrich herself and is charged with Article 2, Paragraph 1 or Article 3 of the Corruption Law,'€ KPK spokesman Johan Budi said on Friday, adding she was also suspected of being involved in a conspiracy to commit graft.

The articles carry a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars.

The KPK has questioned Siti in several different graft cases at the ministry, including one implicating former director general of medical services Ratna Dewi Umar. The Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced her to five years in prison.

The case centers on the botched procurement of medical equipment in 2007, worth Rp 40 billion.

During her trial in 2013, Ratna said she was instructed by Siti to directly offer the procurement tender to a company belonging to Rudijanto Tanoesoedibjo, but the brother of media mogul and vice presidential hopeful for the Hanura Party Hary Tanoesoedibjo strongly denied the allegation.

Last September, the KPK said Siti and Rudijanto could be named suspects in the case if KPK investigators found evidence that implicated them.

KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto said developments had allowed the KPK to dig deeper into the case, which he described as '€œhaving many branches'€, and into the possible roles of other actors.

The National Police named Siti a suspect under the same graft charge of abusing budgetary power in March 2012. Since then, many criticized the lack of progress made by the police in their investigation. '€œThe KPK investigation has been easier since the case is now under us. We have collected much evidence and information; we just need to put it together,'€ Bambang said.

Siti has repeatedly denied allegations she was connected to Ratna'€™s case, saying she had no knowledge of foul play in the project and could not monitor the '€œthousands of procurement projects'€ at the ministry.

Another case implicating Siti was the rigging of another medical equipment procurement in the handling of a bird flu epidemic in 2006. This case centers on the direct appointment of PT Bersaudara, which later won the Rp 98.6 billion project without going through the proper procedure.

'€œWe will repeat the process as we have decided the articles [under which to press charges], but the police'€™s investigation can be used as reference,'€ Bambang said on the connection between the police investigation and the KPK. (dhi)

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