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Budi refuses to answer KPK summons, again

Jakarta Post - February 3, 2015

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Haeril Halim, Jakarta – Graft suspect and National Police chief candidate Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan has said through his lawyer that he will not answer the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) second summons slated for Friday, claiming that "the KPK has no authority to issue a summons" for him.

One of Budi's lawyers, Frederick Yunardi, said on Monday that some KPK investigators handling his client's investigation were not legitimate as they were former investigators at the National Police who had given up their posts before joining the KPK.

Fredrick said the KPK had no authority to independently appoint ex-police investigators as its own investigators, as the National Police had the sole authority to determine whether someone had investigative authority or not.

Fredrick made the claim despite Law No. 20/2002 on the KPK clearly stating that the antigraft body has the authority to appoint and dismiss an investigator, whether they are a civil investigator or an investigator from the National Police or the Attorney General's Office.

Article 39 of the same law also stipulates that investigators and prosecutors on temporary duty with the KPK must temporarily be suspended from their posts at their respective offices until they finish their duties at the antigraft body.

In another show of defiance, the lawyer also cited Budi's power at the National Police, an institution that consists of hundreds of thousands of personnel, by challenging the antigraft body to bring Budi by force for questioning.

"Don't just talk [to the media] and say you will bring him by force. Just arrest him by force if you have the guts," Frederick said at South Jakarta District Court on Monday before the beginning of Budi's pretrial hearing, which was later put on hold.

After being nominated by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as the National Police chief candidate, Budi was guarded by dozens of police personnel in a move to provide high security for the three-star police general.

"The summons letters did not arrive at the right addresses. [KPK officers] only threw the letters at the compound [at four locations] because they were afraid of meeting members of the [National Police's] Internal Affairs Division. [They are] cowards," said Frederick.

He added that he would file a law suit at the court to challenge the authority of KPK investigators in working on graft cases, including those working on Budi's case.

The KPK has named Budi a suspect for alleged financial misdeeds in his capacity as head of the Career Development Bureau at the National Police from 2004 to 2006, where he amassed a total of Rp 95 billion (US$7.53 million) that he allegedly collected from bribes and gratuities, including bribes allegedly paid by officers in pursuit of higher positions in the force.

On Monday, the KPK also summoned a number of active police officers as witnesses to complete Budi's dossiers but none of them showed up for questioning. KPK spokesman Priharsa Nugraha confirmed the no-shows, saying that only one witness had informed the KPK of his absence.

The police officers in question are Adj. First. Insp. Revindo Taufik Gunawan Siahaan of the North Sumatra Police, Brig. Gen. Budi Hartono Untung of the National Police and Brig. Triyono of West Java's Bogor Police.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/02/03/budi-refuses-answer-kpk-summons-again.html.