Vaudine England, Jakarta – The trial of former president Suharto's golfing partner, Mohammad "Bob" Hasan, opened yesterday but was adjourned for a week after prosecutors outlined corruption charges against him. The prosecution accused Hasan of "enriching himself" at the state's expense. If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years' jail.
Unlike his former mentor, Hasan appeared at his own trial but unlike the former president's son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, who avoided arrest with a smile on Saturday, Hasan found little to be cheerful about. In detention at the Attorney-General's compound off and on since March, the friend of the International Olympic Committee and former timber tycoon sat quietly in court and entered no plea.
About 360 police guarded the Central Jakarta District Court's grounds, banning vehicles and limiting access to pedestrians. Prosecutor Arnold Angkow told the trial Hasan had cost the Government and timber industry association more than US$240 million by failing to carry out a forestry mapping project.
"The defendant ... in a time period of 1989 to 1998, did a series of actions that enriched himself by giving the state, directly or indirectly, some loss," Mr Angkow told the court. "In total, he has caused losses to the state of as much as US$75.6 million and he has caused losses to the [timber] association of as much as ... US$168.1 million. He was assigned to map 88 million hectares of forest but he did not do what he was assigned."
Hasan has previously denied wrongdoing. His lawyer, Augustinus Hutajulu, said he still had objections to the charges and would be filing them on Monday. He added that investigators had taken charge of several of his client's belongings as evidence, including documents, a BMW sedan and the Mapindo Parama office building in Senayan, South Jakarta. The trial was adjourned until September 27 and Hasan was expected to remain in custody.
Before Suharto's fall in May 1998, Hasan served briefly as his trade and industry minister in a digression from his usual work as a businessman. At one stage, Hasan virtually ruled Indonesia's timber trade and had stakes in about 300 firms spread across the country's economy, including banks, insurance, advertising, paper, copper, oil and media.
Last week, the International Olympic Committee caused a stir when it admitted asking President Abdurrahman Wahid to release Hasan so he could attend the Sydney Games.