Court waits again for Citibank to appear in Irzen Octa case

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 06/09/2011 9:30 AM

Central Jakarta District Court is expecting Citibank lawyers to attend a hearing on Thursday in the hearing of a civil lawsuit filed by the family of Irzen Octa, a politician who died after a meeting with Citibank’s debt collectors.

The Citibank legal team had failed to show up to the initial hearing on May 12, and the adjourned hearing on May 26, citing "technical issues" for their absence.

The family of Irzen Octa accuse Citibank of disobedience and negligence in performing its banking duties and are demanding Rp 3 trillion (US$351 million) in damages.

Irzen Octa died on March 28 after a meeting the Citibank debt collectors at a branch in Jakarta.

An initial autopsy reported no signs of violence in Irzen's death, but a second autopsy found signs he had been tortured. (awd)

Andi Kosasih’s sentence gets heavier again

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 05/25/2011 8:43 PM

The Supreme Court added two years to businessman Andi Kosasih’s sentence after it rejected his appeal.

Krisna Harahap, one of the judges in the panel, confirmed to Antara newswire the punishment increase.
“Aside from the imprisonment, Andi Kosasih has also been given a fine of Rp 6 billion, that, if unpaid, can be replaced with six months imprisonment,” he said.

Andi, whose trial was related to the high-profile graft case of former tax official Gayus H. Tambunan, was first sentenced with six years imprisonment in the District Court. The first appeal’s result was that the punishment increased to eight years.

Andi, along with lawyers Haposan Hutagalung and Lambertus Palang Ama, has been proven guilty of obstructing the investigation process of Gayus’ case.

According to the judges, Andi gave a bogus statement saying that the suspiciously large amount of wealth in Gayus’ account was his and was intended to build a business-housing block.

Gayus’ wife to be questioned again Monday

Dina Indrasafitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/17/2011 10:58 AM | National

Milana Anggraeni, the wife of notorious graft defendant Gayus Tambunan, is scheduled to undergo questioning by police in Jakarta on Monday.

"Yes, [Milana will be questioned] at around 10-11 a.m. I will accompany her with my team," Milana's lawyer, Hotma Sitompul, told The Jakarta Post by telephone.

Previously, Milana was questioned as a witness regarding her husband's overseas trips last year, journeys he undertook when he was supposed to be locked up in a police detention center.

During previous questioning sessions, Milana testified that she had gone with Gayus on several of the excursions, including to Macau and Singapore.

Gayus’ bribery and graft trial is currently in process. Prosecutors have demanded he serve 20 years in prison.

SKorea vows retaliation if North attacks again

Hyung-Jin Kim, The Associated Press, Seoul, South Korea | Mon, 12/27/2010 11:47 AM | World

South Korea's president vowed a relentless retaliation against North Korea if provoked again, saying Monday he is not afraid of a war with the communist North.

The two Koreas have ramped up their rhetoric since North Korea shelled front-line Yeonpyeong Island near the tense western sea border last month, killing four South Koreans. Both sides accuse each other of provoking first.

On Monday, President Lee Myung-bak used much of his regular address to vow to get tougher with any new provocation by North Korea.

"We have now been awakened to the realization that war can be prevented and peace assured only when such provocations are met with a strong response," Lee said. "Fear of war is never helpful in preventing war."

He said South Korea's military "must respond relentlessly when they come under attack."

South Korea has staged a series of military drills - including one on Yeonpyeong Island on Dec. 20 - in a show of force against the North. The South was to begin routine naval firing exercises starting Monday but not on Yeonpyeong and other border islands, according to the Defense Ministry.

North Korea, for its part, has also kept up rhetoric around last Friday's 19th anniversary of leader Kim Jong Il's appointment as the North's supreme military commander. Kim's military chief threatened last week to launch a "sacred" nuclear war against the South.

On Friday, North Korean soldiers appeared on a state TV program and bragged of participating in the artillery barrage on Yeonpyeong - the country's first attacks on a civilian area since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The two Koreas are still technicallyat war because their 1950s conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. In recent years, several bloody naval skirmishes occurred near their disputed western sea border - drawn by the U.N. at the close of the Korean War.