Nurdin Halid denies he was arrested

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Graft convict Nurdin Halid has denied he was arrested by public prosecutors` office personnel early on Tuesday.

"I was not arrested in Menteng (central Jakarta)," he said at Salemba Prison on Tuesday.

He said the truth was that he had an appointment with the public prosecutor`s office at Salemba Prison, so that the latter could carry out the Supreme Court`s verdict sentencing him to two years in prison.

Recounting the chronology of his case, he said it started with the issuance of a summons by the public prosecutor`s office to him on September 17.

After receiving the summons, he directly coordinated with the Jakarta High Prosecutor`s Office. He said he asked for a rescheduling of the time for him to come to the public prosecutor`s office until after he had received a copy of the Supreme Court`s verdict on him.

"Until now, I have not received a copy of or read the Supreme Court`s ruling," he said.

In the coordination with the High Prosecutor`s Office, he said, it was agreed that he and public prosecutors would meet at the Salemba Prison at 5 am on Tuesday.

Nurdin had previously said he was still out of town and would only meet the the public prosecutor`s office`s summons at the latest on September 20.

"Well, I was in Depok and that was out of town, was it not?" he said when asked what he meant by "out of town."

He eventually decided to meet the summons as soon as possible considering it was his duty as a law-abiding citizen.

Nurdin was sentenced to two years in prison by the Supreme Court last Thursday for misusing Rp167.9 billion in palm oil distribution funds in 1998. He also had to pay a fine of Rp30 million or remain in prison six more months.

The ruling was issued only one day after Nurdin was swore in as a member of the House of Representatives (DPR) to replace Andi Mattalatta who was appointed law minister.

At the begnning, a district court sentenced Nurdin to 20 years in prison. But he appealed the sentence with the high court which acquitted him. However, the prosecution then referred the case to the Supreme Court which found him guily and gave him two years in jail.