TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) will face three pretrial hearings at the South District Jakarta Court on Monday, March 30, 2015. KPK Legal Bureau head Rasamala Aritonang told Tempo on Monday morning that the anti-graft commission would only attend trials it was prepared for.
Rasamala, however, was non-committal when asked about which trials the KPK would attend. Earlier, the KPK reportedly would face three pretrial lawsuits filed by three graft suspects: former Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, former Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) head Hadi Poernomo, and Pertamina’s former processing director Suroso Atmo Martoyo.
“We need to prepare for several trials and we hope that there will be recess,” Rasamala said.
The three suspects are seeking the court’s decision to remove their status by filing pretrial motions. Such a decision was given by Judge Sarpin Rizaldi, who ruled that the naming of Budi Gunawan as a suspect by the KPK was invalid.
Last week on Monday, March 23, 2015, the KPK was supposed to face a pretrial hearing filed by Sutan Bhatoegana, a former energy commission head at the House of Representatives. The KPK however, skipped the trial, prompting the court to put the trial on recess.
Two days later, the KPK handed over Sutan’s case to the Jakarta Corruption Court, canceling Sutan’s pretrial motion under the provision of the Criminal Code.
MUHAMAD RIZKI
