SUSNO DUADJI QUESTIONED ABOUT AROWANA FISH CASE

Jakarta, April 22 (ANTARA) - The National Police's independent investigation team here Thursday began questioning former police chief detective Commissioner General Susno Duadji about the arowana fish case.

Susno Duadji's lawyer, Ari Yusuf Amir, said his client was questioned about what he knew about the case around a business dispute involving a Singaporean arowana fish businessman in Pekanbaru.

"Mr.Susno was asked about what he knew as the national police's chief detective about the arowana fish case," he said.

Asked about Susno's testimony, Amir said his client was not the first person to reveal the arowana fish case to the public, because it was Haposan Hutagalung, the lawyer of rogue tax official Gayus Tambunan.

Susno was questioned about the arowana fish case because it might have involved Haposan Hutagalung and Sjahril Djohan. The latter was also allegedly involved in the Gayus Tambunan case.

The arowana fish case was related to a dispute between a Singaporean businessman (only identified as HKH) and his Indonesian counterpart (only identified as AS alias Am).

HKH reportedly had given Rp100 billion to his Indonesian partner to engage in the arowana fish business in Pekanbaru, Riau Province.

The Singaporean businessman had also handed over arowana fingerlings with a total value of Rp32 billion.

Initially, the police considered the arowana fish case to be a civil one but later the National Police Headquarters changed its mind and categorized it as criminal one.
Susno Duadji recently said that the arowana fish case should have been a civil lawsuit because it was more of a business dispute than a criminal offense.

The police investigators asked Susno Duadji about it because the business dispute occurred when he was still the national police's chief detective.

The Thursday questioning was Susno Duadji's third as a witness in the Gayus Tambunan case.

Susno Duadji was the whistle blower who revealed the mafia case and engineering practices within the police force in connection with Tambunan's money laundering and corruption cases.

During Tuesday's questioning session, police investigators raised 40 questions but Susno Duadji only answered 38 questions.

The case of rogue tax official Gayus Tambunan came under the spotlight after the police named him a suspect in connection with a suspicious Rp25 billion bank account in his name.

At least 12 middle ranking officials of the Indonesian finance ministry were allegedly involved in tax brokering cases.

In connection with Tambunan's case, the police had arrested Haposan Hutagalung, who was Tambunan's lawyer from June 8 to September 1, 2009, and two middle-ranking police officers.

The Gayus Tambunan fiscal mafia case had also triggered a suspension of Lampung provincial police chief Brig Gen Edmon Ilyas from his position to facilitate an investigation into his alleged involvement.

Sjahril Djohan whom Susno Duadji simply referred to as "Mr.X" when he was summoned by the House of Representatives' members recently was also detained after police investigators named him a suspect.

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