Jakarta – Three of five Corruption Court judges walked out of a bribery trial session Wednesday after the presiding judge refused to summon Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan.

The incident flared up when presiding judge Kresna Menon denied the prosecutor's request to change the trial agenda to include testimony from the chief justice.

"The dossier for the case indicates that Bagir is one of the witnesses who should be presented at the trial," prosecutor Khaidir Ramli told the court.

Kresna responded that he would conduct the trial in line with the predetermined schedule, which required the testimony Wednesday of Harini Wijoso, the defendant who is charged with bribery involving businessman Probosutedjo, former president Soeharto's half-brother, in 2003.

"Bagir Manan has no relevance to this case. It was revealed in a previous trial that he had no knowledge pertinent to the accusations of bribery," Kresna said.

Prosecutor Khaidir countered that the accusation of bribery could not be proven if one of the key witnesses did not testify. "We just want him here for the sake of achieving justice," he said.

One of the judges, Achmad Lino, said it was the second time the prosecutor had requested that Bagir be required to testify. "We should discuss this matter first so that we can reach a compromise if necessary."

Kresna cut Lino off, and said there would be no compromise. He also ignored Khaidir's attempts to speak again. "If we cannot compromise, then I will walk out," said Lino angrily, rising quickly from his chair and leaving the chamber.

He was followed by two other judges, I Made Hendara and Dudu Duswara. The three refused to return to the courtroom even after a recess of several minutes.

"The three judges cannot accept my decision to continue with the testimony of the defendant. The trial will be adjourned until May 10 with the same agenda," said Kresna.

Khaidir told The Jakarta Post he was dismayed by the tone of the dispute. "I was shocked because an argument between judges happened in open court," he said. He added he would continue efforts to ensure Bagir, who was elected to another term as chief justice Tuesday, appeared at the trial.

"Judge Kresna insists on continuing the trial with the same schedule. I will try to counter his argument again in the next trial session because I believe Bagir can reveal the truth," the prosecutor said.

The bribery case came to light when Probosutedjo was convicted of embezzling reforestation funds, causing the state losses of more than Rp 100 billion. He was sentenced to four years in jail by the Central Jakarta District Court in 2003, but the Jakarta High Court later halved the term.

Probosutedjo told the media that he had spent a total of Rp 16 billion to bribe court officials during his legal battles. He also has claimed that his former lawyer, Harini Wijoso, asked specifically for Rp 5 billion to bribe Chief Justice Bagir Manan.