“Both former legislators have been proven guilty of violating the 1999 Anticorruption Law,” prosecutors presenting cases against the two men said Monday during separate Corruption Court trial sessions.

The respective prosecutors added that Dudhie and Udju had violated their authority as members of the House.

Prosecutors said that both Dudhie, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), and Udju, from the military/police faction, had accepted Rp 500 million (US$55,500) in the form of 10 traveler’s checks in exchange for maneuvering the election of Miranda Swaray Goeltom to BI senior deputy governor in a House vote.

Prosecutors also requested the court order Dudhie and Udju to pay Rp 150 million in fines or serve an additional six months each in prison.

“I want one week’s time for us to prepare the rebuttal,” Udju said.

After Monday’s trial session, Udju’s lawyer Suyitno Landung said that he objected to the prosecution’s demand because the prosecutors had failed to prove who had given the bribe money to Udju.

“They could not prove who the donor was. If there is a recipient then there must be a donor,” he said.

During the trial, prosecutors accused Nunun Nurbaeti, the wife of then National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Adang Daradjatun, of bribing the two legislators with traveler’s checks via middleman Arie Malangjudo.

Dudhie said his team of lawyers would rebut the sentence demand during next Tuesday’s trial session.

After Monday’s trial session, Dudhie’s lawyer, Amir Karyatin, stated that the legal basis for the sentence demand was weak.

“The absence of Nunun Nurbaeti in the court influenced the conviction. The checks may have been from Miranda, and they may not have been,” he said.

According to the defense lawyers, both prosecutor teams failed to prove who had given the traveler’s checks to the defendants.

Udju, also a former member of the Supreme Audit Agency, said he had received traveler’s checks from Malangjudo, who was allegedly acting on the orders of Nunun.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has not been able to summon Nunun to court because she claims she is ill and undergoing medical treatment in Singapore.

“We have not yet sent a team to pick up Nunun,” said Johan Budi, the commission’s spokesman, adding that the KPK was trying to bring Nunun back from Singapore.

On June 8, 2004, a fit and proper test was conducted on three candidates for the BI senior deputy governor post. They were Miranda, Hartadi A. Sarwono and Budi Rochadi. The House then voted to appoint Miranda to the post.

Allegations of bribery in the election surfaced when former PDI-P member Agus Condro Prayitno told the KPK he had accepted bribe money and then handed over the traveler’s checks to the commission.

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