Hamdan Zoelva Condemns Allegations Of False Information By AGO Experts At The Tom Lembong Session

Former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court or Constitutional Court, Hamdan Zoelva (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Hamdan Zoelva criticized the alleged false information submitted by two experts from the Attorney General's Office (AGO) in the pretrial hearing of the suspect in the sugar import corruption case, Tom Lembong.

This is related to accusations by Tom Lembong's attorney, Ari Yusuf Amir, accusing the two experts of providing false information. This is evident from the written statement of two witnesses who are exactly the same.

" Oral and written testimony at trial are two things that cannot be separated, signed and under oath. The witness has been flawed in integrity, so the judge cannot use the expert witness's testimony," Hamdan told reporters, Sunday, November 27.

This case was then reported to the Polda Metro Jaya based on the Police report Number lp/b/7132/xi/2024/spkt/Polda Metro Jaya dated November 22, 2024. The reporter is on behalf of Andi happened.

The reported party, in this case Hakni Hibnu Nugroho and Taufik Rachman, who are expert witnesses to the prosecutor's office, are suspected of having committed the crime of false oaths and false statements of Article 242 of the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code.

Regarding the report, Hamdan Zoelva expressed his opinion that the report should be processed immediately. According to the former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, what the two expert witnesses did was a violation of ethics and false oaths. Oral and written statements are inseparable.

"This is a bad precedent for our judiciary. Experts are asked for their opinion because of their scientific integrity. But if Ari Yusuf Amir's accusations are true, then the testimony of the expert witness does not have any value," said Hamdan.

In the case of alleged corruption in sugar imports, Tom Lembong is considered to have violated the law for allowing 105 thousand tons of sugar imports to private companies. The permit was issued while serving as Minister of Trade for the 2015 to 2016 period.

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

Tom Lembong was charged with 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.