Denying Political Elements In The Tom Lembong Case, Attorney General: We Are Yuridis And That's All We Have

Attorney General ST Burhanuddin stated that there was no political element when he named the former Minister of Trade, Tom Lembong, as a suspect in the alleged corruption case of sugar importation.

He conveyed this statement during a hearing with Commission III of the DPR RI, Wednesday, November 13.

"For the Tom Lembong case, we have never been in politics at all. We are only Yuridis and that's all we have," said Burhanuddin.

He emphasized that in determining the suspect, investigators must undergo a series of stages ranging from investigation to investigation.

In addition, investigators must also have at least two pieces of evidence to determine someone as a suspect.

"Because to establish someone as a suspect it is not easy. We are following the very risky stage process," he said.

Thus, it is impossible to determine someone as a suspect as an arbitrary suspect, especially for Tom Lembong.

"It is impossible for us to determine whether someone becomes a suspect (in any way or without a basis), this will violate human rights, we must be careful," said Burhanuddin.

In the case of alleged sugar import corruption, Tom Lembong, who while serving as Minister of Trade allowed sugar imports of 105 thousand tons to private companies.

Tom Lembong's decision has violated the Decree of the Minister of Trade Number 527 of 2004. In that regulation, only state-owned companies are allowed to import sugar.

In this case, Tom Lembong is suspected of being under Article 2 Paragraph 1 or Article 3 Juncto Article 18 of the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 31 of 1999 as amended by Law Number 20 of 2021 Juncto Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 31 of 1999 concerning Amendments to Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 31 of 1999 concerning Corruption Crimes Juncto Article 55 Paragraph 1 to 1 of the Criminal Procedure Code