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National scene: Regent to file pretrial motion
Morotai Island Regent Rusli Sibua plans to submit a pretrial motion to South Jakarta District Court against the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which named him a suspect for allegedly bribing the former Constitutional Court chief Akil Mochtar
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orotai Island Regent Rusli Sibua plans to submit a pretrial motion to South Jakarta District Court against the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which named him a suspect for allegedly bribing the former Constitutional Court chief Akil Mochtar.
The antigraft body charged Rusli with perjury for allegedly paying a Rp 2.98 billion (US$223,000) bribe to Akil in exchange for a ruling that would declare him regent of Morotai Island in the 2011 local election.
Rusli denies he ever paid a bribe to Akil.
'At that time, we went to the Constitutional Court to claim what should be our right as the election commission had given the victory to the losing candidate,' Rusli said during a press conference in Jakarta on Sunday.
Rusli claimed that he won the election with 11,000 votes while his rival only got 7,000 votes.
Rusli's lawyer, Achmad Rifai said that he found irregularities in Rusli's case as according to the Supreme Court ruling on Akil, Rusli did not wire the money himself but through intermediaries Sahrin Hamid, M. Djuffry and Muchlis Tapi Tapi.
'The regent has told me that he doesn't know the people who transferred the money and he never met with them,' Rifai said.
Rifai said that the KPK should name the three individuals suspects in the case instead of Rusli.
