News Focus: DJOKO CHANDRA BEGS FOR DELAY IN EXECUTION OF COURT VERDICT By Eliswan Azly

Jakarta, June 19 (ANTARA) - A graft convict, Djoko Chandra, believed to have escaped to Papua New Guinea (PNG), has begged for a delay in the execution of a Supreme Court verdict on him.

The request for the delay had been passed on by his lawyer OC Kaligis to the Attorney General's Office, Assistant Attorney General for Special Crimes Marwan Effendy said here on Friday.

"I have received information from his lawyer that Djoko Chandra will carry out the verdict. But he needs a delay to settle a joint venture business in the PNG," he said.
Involved in a case of the transfer of Bank Bali's debt collection right involving Rp546 billion, he had been summoned by the high prosecution office on Tuesday. But he failed to meet the summon.

According to him, the reason behind the wish for a delay was a joint venture business he had to settle in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea.

"Djoko should arrange the settlement of his business in Port Moresby under a joint venture scheme in that neighboring country," he said.
It was reported that the execution of the court verdict cannot be delayed. But the attorney general's office still regarded Djoko Chandra as cooperative such as sending his wish for a delay.
"He will abide by the verdict, and merely asked for a delay pending the settlement of his business in the PNG," he said.

As to the limit of delay required by Djoko Chandra, Marwan said he was not so sure of the limit of the delay. "I do not know for how long, because we have not yet received a letter from him. Hopefully the letter should have arrived on Friday.

Marwan further said that Djoko Chandra would likely return to Indonesia, because he has many businesses in this country like hotels, office buildings, factories and members of his family. A two-year jail term is actually not so long.

"If Djoko Chandra fails to show up in Indonesia, he will ask for the assistance of the relevant authorities like the Interpol to arrest him," he said.
Earlier, the House of Representatives put the blame on the Attorney General's office (AGO) for Djoko Chandra's.

House member Trimedya Pandjaitan said that the AGO should have coordinated better with immigration officials in preventing people wanted by the police from escaping to another country.

"Djoko is a very rich man. It's very easy for him to go abroad. The AGO should have taken this into account," he said.

The Supreme Court recently sentenced Djoko - a Golkar party linked businessman - and former Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin to two years' imprisonment each after finding them guilty of corruption in an illegal disbursement of Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) funds to the now-defunct Bank Bali in 1999.

Sjahril began serving out his sentence at Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta on Tuesday. Djoko remained at large.

"The AGO must now quickly coordinate with Interpol and the National Police to track Djoko Chandra down," Trimedya said.

Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said his office had done its best to prevent Djoko from leaving the country.

"Once we were informed of the court's verdict, we immediately got in touch with the immigration office to impose a travel ban on Djoko," he said.

"However, Djoko was nowhere to be found. He did not turn himself in when we summoned him and he was not at his home either."
According to the information, Djoko was last seen in the country five months ago.

Hendarman said that for now the AGO would focus on working together with the Immigration Office and would keep trying to summon Djoko.

"We will also work together with Interpol to track Djoko down," he said.

With the AGO busy searching for Djoko, his lawyers OC Kaligis said that day his client was in Singapore, undergoing medical treatment. "He's in Singapore, I've been in contact with his family."
Kaligis said he had advised his client to return to Indonesia to settle his legal affairs.

Legislator Djoko Susilo of the National Mandate Party (PAN) urged the Indonesian government to seek the Singaporean government's help in finding Djoko.

"However, I am pessimistic we can catch the fugitive, because Singapore has long been a safe haven for corrupt Indonesian business people," he was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying.
The Bank Bali scandal which unfolded in 1998 revolved around allegations the bank had received a Rp 904 billion loan under the BLBI loan under the BLBI scheme, with assistance from PT Era Giat Prima (EGP) which itself received Rp546 billion in commissions for its assistance.

The bank's owner, Rudy Ramli, failed to claim much-needed interbank loans from debtors Bank Umum National and Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia, Rudy then shifted the claims to EGP, owned by Djoko.

Prosecutors said the disbursement of the loan occurred after Syahril had attended a meeting with Djoko, Rudy, EGP president Setya Novanto, former Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency deputy chairman Pande Lubis, former state enterprises minister Tanri Abeng and former Supreme Advisory Council chairman AA. Baramuli.

The court reviewed the case upon request by the AGO after the same court had acquitted Sjahril in 2002 and the South Jakarta District Court found Djoko not guilty due to lack of evidence in 2000.

The district court had sentenced Sjahril to three years in jail.

The supreme court also ordered EGP and Bank Bali (now Bank Permata) to pay Rp546 billion in restitution for the state.

The AGO confiscated on Tuesday Rp546 billion being held in Permata Bank accounts as evidence in connection with the graft case.