KPK’s Latest Sting Operation
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officially named the Registrar of the South Jakarta District Court (PN Jaksel) Tarmizi and the legal counsel of PT Aquamarine Divindo Inspection (ADI) Akhmad Zaini bribery suspects on August 22, 2017. The two suspects were detained along with three other individuals after the KPK held a Sting Operation (OTT) in the PN Jaksel on August 21, 2017 afternoon—the KPK decided to release the three other individuals.
More on Miryam’s Perjury Case
The trial of perjury suspect Miryam S. Haryani, the Hanura politician and former member of the House Commission II of the House of Representatives, continues. On August 21, 2017, the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court heard the accounts of Anton Taufik, the young advocate who allegedly helped Markus Nari (Golkar) in his attempt to obstruct investigation.
IMFA v. the Government of Indonesia
More than two years have passed since the Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Limited (NSE: IMFA) filed a lawsuit at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PAC) against the Government of Indonesia on the overlapping coal mining concession dispute. The case is still pending, but the Vice President Jusuf Kalla (JK) recently brought the case to fore when he mentioned the case while talking about regional government and abuse of power.
Updates on Miryam’s Perjury Case
The trial of perjury suspect Miryam S. Haryani, the Hanura politician and former member of the House Commission II of the House of Representatives, continues. On August 14, 2017, the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court heard the accounts of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators and parts of the recording made of the December 2016 examination of Miryam.
Hamson Indonesia v. Cikarang Listrindo
PT Hamson Indonesia—a manufacturer of dredgers, winches, pumps, hydraulics and ship steering systems—filed a tort lawsuit against PT Cikarang Listrindo Tbk (POWR) on a problem concerning the Cikarang Bekasi Laut (CBL) dredging project and inappropriate grace period. The lawsuit was filed on August 16, 2017 at the South Jakarta District Court.
The Full-Day School Debate
On June 12, 2017, The Minister of Education and Culture Muhadjir Effendy issued Minister Regulation (Permen) No. 23/2017 on School Day. The Permen changed the school hours/day from six days to five days a week, for eight hours in a day. This was dubbed the “full day school” policy (FDS). FDS was supposed to apply nation wide in July 2017, but massive criticisms followed, so much so that the regulation was scrapped. The Government later denied the suggestion that they back out from their position, and instead said a Presidential Regulation would be issued to strengthen the FDS policy. This provoked the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) into concerted protests. What is going on?
Indictment for Andi Narogong
The Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court held the first session of the trial of Andi Agustinus a.k.a Andi Narogong, the third suspect in the electronic identity card (E-KTP) procurement graft case, on August 14, 2017. The first two suspects, i.e., Sugiharto and Irman were convicted last month but the verdict left many loopholes. The indictment the prosecutors of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prepared for Andi is consistent with the indictment of Sugiharto and Irman, but there are differences in the number of parties that supposedly benefited from the project.
On Nyonya Meneer’s Bankruptcy
The ninety-eight years old legendary herbal company PT Nyonya Meneer must accept bankruptcy after the Commercial Court of the Semarang District Court in Central Java decided to cancel the peace agreement that the Company signed with its creditors back in 2015. The cancellation of the peace agreement was requested by one of the Company’s creditors Hendrianto Bambang Santoso, and it was granted on August 3, 2017. The Company, however, said they had no idea that this would happen because the Company was in a healthy condition and claimed that they had a total of Rp16 trillion in assets. After the cancellation of peace agreement was promulgated by the court, the Company reportedly tried to offer a peace deal, which is not allowed under the applicable law. What a mess.
Sandipala Arthaputra v. Oxel System, and the E-KTP Graft Case
On May 16, 2017, the Singapore High Court published a judgement on the dispute between PT Sandipala Arthaputra—one of the members of the consortium once involved in the the procurement of Indonesia’s electronic identity card (E-KTP)—, STMicroelectronics Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, and Oxel Systems Pte Ltd. The dispute is related to damages for breach of contract, fraud and deceit, tort, including negligence. The court found that Sandipala had breached the Agreement between the parties and then noted that Oxel was entitled to compensations. Oxel requested detailed explanation regarding the decision and on August 7, 2017, the court provided the explanation as requested.
Death of Witnesses and the Continuation of Inquisition Process
Johannes Marliem, the key witness of the E-KTP graft case, was not the first key witness to have died during the process of inquisition. The death of witnesses is unfortunately something that has happened way too often.Be it under the supervision of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) or other law enforcement institution witnesses have died by natural cause or other unknown causes. The question that is now lingering in people’s mind is, what will be the fate of the E-KTP graft case now that a key witness is dead?