The Attorney General's Office Examines 3 Witnesses Investigating The Tom Lembong Sugar Import Corruption Case

Kapuspenkum Harli Siregar At The Attorney General's Office Building, Jakarta (Rizky AP/VOI)

The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has examined three witnesses regarding the handling of the alleged corruption case of sugar imports with the suspect Tom Lembong. All of them are private parties.

"Examining 3 witnesses, related to the alleged corruption case in sugar importation activities at the Ministry of Trade," said Head of the AGO, Harli Siregar in his statement, Tuesday, November 19.

The three witnesses were YS as Director of CV for the New Century; GPS, which is Accounting Manager of PT Permata Dunia Sukses Utama; and AMS as Head of the Factory of PT Permata Dunia Sukses Utama.

However, it was not conveyed explicitly about what the investigators investigated from the three witnesses. It is only mentioned that the examination took place on Monday, November 18.

"The witness examination was carried out to strengthen the evidence and complete the filing in the case," said Harli.

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.