Pretrial motion will not disrupt Lino’s case

JAKARTA. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) stressed on Monday that a pretrial motion filed by state-owned port operator PT Pelindo II’s former president director, Richard Joost Lino, against him being named a graft suspect would not affect its investigation into the case.

KPK spokesman Priharsa Nugraha said it respected the pretrial hearing motion as the right of the suspect.

"It needs to be underlined that the pretrial motion will not disrupt the investigation. The process continues," he told journalists at the antigraft body office on Monday afternoon.

Priharsa further said the KPK had not yet scheduled Lino questioning.

“The questioning is not being postponed [as reported]. We have not scheduled it. KPK investigators consider the most important thing to do it now is question witnesses about the direct appointment in the procurement of three quay container cranes in 2010,” said Priharsa.

The KPK has questioned four witnesses in the case since last week. On Monday, it questioned Pelindo II’s former operational and technical director, Ferialdy Noerlan, and Wahyu Hardiyanto, former procurement bureau chief in the company. Last week, it questioned Dedi Iskandar, a senior official at Pelindo II’s planning and business development II sub-directorate, and Mashudi Sanyoto, the technical operations director of state-owned port equipment service company PT Jasa Peralatan Pelabuhan Indonesia (JPPI).

The KPK named Lino a graft suspect in relation to the procurement of three quay container cranes (QCCs) by the company on Dec. 18, 2014.

Lino allegedly abused his authority by directly appointing Chinese company Wuxi Huadong Heavy Machinery Co Ltd (HDHM) in 2010 to supply the cranes.

He will be charged under Article 2 and/or Article 3 of Law No. 31/1999 on corruption and Article 55 of the Criminal Code.

The KPK has also slapped a travel ban on Lino that came into effect on Dec. 30. It is valid for six months.

Priharsa said the KPK was waiting for a report from the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) on state losses caused by the procurement.

Priharsa said the antigraft body sent a letter to the BPKP in mid-December asking about the amount of state losses.

"We have officially requested the BPKP give us a report of its estimated state losses," he said.

In 2014, The Jakarta Post wrote that BPKP's audit documents dated 2011 indicated foul play in the purchase of the three cranes for three ports in Palembang, South Sumatra; Pontianak, West Kalimantan; and Lampung.

The documents suggested several violations, including in the direct appointment of HDHM to supply the cranes at a cost of $17 million.

"The procurement through direct selection [in February 2010] and the direct appointment [negotiations were completed in April 2010] of HDHM did not follow proper procedure," the BPKP said in the document.