The Attorney General's Office Asks Judges To Reject Tom Lembong's Pretrial Lawsuit

Judge Tumpanuli Marbun in the trial of a pretrial lawsuit in the alleged corruption case of sugar imports at the Ministry of Trade/ANTARA/Luhfia Miranda Putri

The Attorney General's Office (AGO) asked the judge to reject the pretrial lawsuit filed by Thomas Trikasih Lembong or Tom Lembong because the determination of the suspect is fairly valid according to the rules.

"The Respondent concluded that all the arguments used as reasons for the applicant to make an application in this case are not true," said AGO representative Rony Agustinus in the defendant's trial or exception at the South Jakarta District Court, reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, November 19.

Rony pleaded with the judge to examine, try and accept the exception of the respondent in its entirety.

Then, it was stated in the decision of the South Jakarta District Court that it was not authorized to examine, try and decide the pretrial application in case No.113/Pid.Pra/2024/PNJKT.SEL due to formal defects and not being the object of pretrial authority.

Therefore, the AGO emphasized to the judge to grant the exception so that he could continue the process of determining the suspect Tom Lembong.

"The pretrial application number 113 has no legal basis and rejects the petition for pretrial from the applicant in its entirety," he said.

Tom Lembong filed a pretrial lawsuit after being named a suspect by the Attorney General's Office in a case of alleged corruption in sugar imports at the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) in 2015-2016.

The AGO previously stated that in January 2016 the suspect Tom Lembong signed an assignment letter to PT PPI which essentially assigned the company to meet national sugar stocks and price stabilization, in collaboration with domestic sugar producers to process raw crystal sugar into sugar crystals of 300,000 tons.

Then PT PPI made a cooperation agreement with eight companies.

The AGO stated that in order to fulfill sugar stocks and stabilize prices, what is imported is white crystal sugar directly and what can only import is State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), namely PT PPI.

However, with the suspect Tom Lembong's knowledge and approval, the approval of imports of raw crystal sugar was signed.