SINGAPORE: A Singapore court may decide in June whether to send an Indonesian businessman, who was allegedly involved in a corruption case there and is currently in remand in Singapore, back to Indonesia.
At a court hearing for Paulus Tannos’ (pic) case on March 25, District Judge Brenda Tan said June 4 and June 23 are the two dates reserved for his committal hearing.
A committal hearing determines whether a fugitive here should be extradited to a foreign state to face charges.
As Deputy Senior State Counsel Sarah Siaw said she would need to check with her colleagues on their availability, Judge Tan directed both parties to confirm the committal hearing dates at Tannos’ next court mention on March 28.
Tannos, who is in his 60s and also known as Chin Thian Po, was arrested in Singapore on Jan 17 after being implicated in a major graft scandal involving the Indonesian government’s electronic ID card or e-KTP project.
It allegedly caused state losses of about 2.3 trillion rupiah (US$138 million).
On March 25, Hassan Esa Almenoar represented Tannos in court on behalf of the latter’s lawyer Bachoo Mohan Singh, who was not present.
Tannos’ lawyers have applied for bail. A bail hearing has been scheduled on April 22.
Hassan said that if bail is not granted then, Tannos’ lawyers intend to appeal to the High Court.
He asked for the committal hearing dates to be fixed after the bail hearing and tentative appeal.
Hassan also asked if it is possible for the prosecution to mention who are the witnesses it intends to call for the committal hearing.
Judge Tan said both parties could fix a pre-trial conference, or the matter could be taken up between the state and Tannos’ lawyers.
Like in previous court mentions, Tannos said – via video link from remand – on March 25 that he did not consent to his surrender to Indonesia.
Under the Extradition Act, fugitives can give consent to their extradition and waive extradition proceedings.
This is in line with international practice, to save state resources and prevent the fugitive from being detained longer than necessary in Singapore
On March 10, the Republic’s Ministry of Law said Indonesia put in a formal extradition request for Tannos on Feb 24.
At a press conference on the matter, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam noted Tannos’ entitlement to make a bail application.
Shanmugam said while extradition hearings vary from case to case, the legal process can take two years or maybe even longer if it is complicated and contested at every step of the way.
Tannos was president and director of Shandipala Arthaputra, a technology company awarded a contract to produce part of the e-ID cards.
He has reportedly been on Indonesia’s fugitive list since Oct 19, 2021, and is believed to have been living in Singapore since 2017.
The extradition treaty between Singapore and Indonesia took effect on March 21, 2024. It grants extradition for a list of offences, including corruption, money laundering and bribery, and can be retrospectively applied to crimes committed up to 18 years ago. - The Straits Times/ANN
