Former national ferry company boss detained on graft charges

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 05/08/2008 11:03 AM  |  National

The Attorney General's Office (AGO) detained former presidential director and incumbent financial director of the national ferry company (PT ASDP) for allegedly commissioning ferries that were never built, causing US$2.8 million in state losses.

After being questioned for about nine hours, former ASDP president director Sumiarso Sonny and the firm's current financial director Sonata Halim were detained by the AGO.

"They were detained at about 6 p.m. Now they are in the AGO's detention facility," said the AGO Head of the Legal Information Center, B.D. Nainggolan.

State prosecutors named Sumiarso and Sonata as suspects on Monday. The AGO also had another suspect, Lutfi Ismail, who is the president director of PT Bima Intan Kencana (BIK), which cooperated with ASDP in the construction of ferries.

Ismail was also questioned on Wednesday, but he claimed to be sick during the questioning and was brought to nearby Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta.

"He can't be detained because he was admitted to hospital," Nainggolan said, adding that the AGO investigation found that Ismail was also supposed to be detained.

ASDP signed a cooperation with BIK for the construction and operation of two Ro-Ro (roll on-roll off) ferries to be made in China on Jan. 21, 2003.

Eight months later, the two companies signed a contract worth $14 million with a contractor, China Geo Eng. ASDP then paid some $2.8 million or 20 percent of the ferries' prices to BIK. The agreement stated that BIK was responsible for paying the remaining 80 percent of the cost. But until today the ferries are not built yet.

Right after the AGO named Sumiarso and Sonata as suspects in the case, the Office of State Minister for State Enterprises reshuffled the ASDP board of directors, adding three new directors, including Bambang Suryanto who replaced Sumiarso as president director.

The new board of directors said in a statement they would focus on renewing ships to enable them compete with other companies.

ASDP has 30 branch offices nationwide. It gained Rp 52 billion (US$5.7 million) in profit last year. The company has targeted to earn more than Rp 60 billion in profit this year. (alf)

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