Ex-diplomat denies knowledge of cash received

THE trial of Brunei's former envoy to Indonesia continued yesterday, with the defendant telling the court he did not know there was money in an envelope he received from an Indonesian employment agent. Hj Yakib Hj Jumat is facing 10 charges under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 131 and 10 more under Section 165 of the Penal Code, Chapter 22. He was arrested by officers from Brunei's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly obtaining money from Indonesian employment agents in return for issuing hundreds of work visas.

The former diplomat told the court that on December 6, 2006 Hj Asroh Sukaeni, a freelance employment agent from PT Fortunatam Insani agency, came to see him at the Brunei Embassy in Jakarta.

They met in the guest room of the embassy. Hj Yakib told the court when he entered the room, Hj Asroh gave him an envelope.

"I asked, "What is this?". He (Hj Asroh) replied, "Nothing, just accept it because you helped me a lot."

Hj Yakib said he then put the envelope in his jacket pocket without opening it.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Hjh Anifa Rafiza Hj Abd Ghani then asked the defendant why had he asked Hj Asroh what was in the envelope instead of opening the envelope.

"It never crossed my mind to open the envelope immediately," replied Hj Yakib.

The DPP later put it to the defendant that he was not curious as to the contents of the envelope because he already knew what it was, to which the defendant replied, "Not true."

Further into the trial, the DPP asked Hj Yakib to take a closer look at the envelope in question, which contained 22 million Rupiah (BND4,774) in cash.

"What is apparent from the writing on this envelope?" asked the DPP.

Hj Yakib said that it showed the name of a bank, Bank BNI (Bank Negara Indonesia).

The DPP then told Hj Yakib to feel the envelope, and asked him to tell the court what he thought, at the time, was the contents of the envelope.

He said it didn't cross his mind as he was busy and had a lot of work to do that afternoon.

The DPP later pointed out that the envelop was small and thick, to which Hj Yakib disagreed, saying that it was just "normal, not too thick."

The DPP then asked the Magistrate and the defence counsel to look at the envelop in question.

Hj Yakib maintained in the course of the trial that he was too busy to think about what was inside the envelope and did not have the time to open it.

He said that the first time he opened the envelope was when the ACB officers went to his office on the same day, December 6, 2006.

The defendant also repeatedly denied that he had accepted money from Hj Asroh over a period of time as rewards for the issuance of over 1,300 employment visas.

"You told the court before that, "The mindset of these Indonesians is they would say anything if they would benefit from it."," said the DPP to Hj Yakib. "I put it to you that Hj Asroh has lost his valuable time and income by coming to Brunei to give evidence against you. Therefore, he has not benefited anything as you would claim."

Hj Yakib said this wasn't true and that Hj Asroh could say anything.

The trial continues on January 11, 2010, where the prosecution will be questioning Hj Yakib regarding the evidence of Zetira Anas Nazar another freelance agent, who alleged that she had paid bribes to the defendant.

The Brunei Times