Judge Not lest ye be judged
Matthew 7:1There was much rending of cloaks in the South Jakarta District Court this week
as Herman Alossitandi became the first judge to be arrested since the 1950s. He was taken into custody by investigators from a joint team of the Attorney General's Office and the National Police.
The arrest was made based on information from a court clerk, Djemy Andrian Lumanouw, who was arrested last week after allegedly attempting to extort Rp.200 million from Walter Sigalingging, a key witness in a Rp.311 billion graft case involving a former head of the state social security agency, Jamsostek.
Hendarman Supandji, who leads the joint team, said yesterday that investigators also obtained evidence against Herman during telephone conversations between the judge and Djemy.
"He asked the court clerk to demand money from the witness. So far, the case does not involve any other judges," he said.
A spokesman for the South Jakarta District Court, which has earned the reputation as the "dirtiest" district court in the capital, raised concern over the incident.
"This incident is shocking," Judge Johanes Suhadi said. He also said that if Herman was brought to trial, the case would not be heard at the South Jakarta District Court for the sake of impartiality.
This court has long been associated with the high and mighty and has a well-earned reputation, but not for 'impartiality'. This has never been a word which could be associated with a bunch of judges who've found every excuse to not try
Suharto and his
cronies.
Other good news, for skeptics anyway, is that the black magic powers I mentioned yesterday are obviously waning.
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