Former Indonesian president Suharto entered a public hospital in Jakarta Saturday to undergo a court-ordered medical check ahead of the resumption of his corruption trial next week, witnesses said.
The former strongman, who has pleaded he is too ill to attend the court sessions, was driven by private car from his Jakarta home early in the morning and entered the capital's upscale Pertamina Hospital.
Accompanied by members of his family, he was taken by wheelchair from the car to the main entrance of the hospital.
Judges trying Suharto, 79, on charges of corruption during his 32-years in power ordered the independent medical check last week after Suharto failed to appear for trial for the second time.
Some 150 police provided security around the hospital complex, where the ageing strongman's chief lawyer, Juan Felix Tampubolon, told journalists that he was unsure how long the examination would take.
"I don't know," Tampubolon said when asked whether Suharto would spend the night there.
"Basically his (Suharto's) condition hasn't changed, and I still trust the results of the previous examinations," he said.
South Jakarta prosecutor Antasari Ashar, who was also present at Pertamina, said that Saturday's checkup -- carried out by a new prosecution-appointed team of 24 doctors -- was designed to check on two other medical reports.
The reports, which were presented by Suharto's lawyers to the judges, claimed that Suharto was plagued by a variety of ailments and risked suffering a fatal stroke from stress if he were brought before a court.
But Ashar said the new medical team's report would be used only to check the previous test results, not to recommend whether or not Suharto was fit to stand trail.
Suharto, who ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for 32 years, is charged with stealing 571 million dollars from the state by funnelling money from tax-free charity foundations into the businesses of family and friends.
Since he stepped down in May 1998 amid mass protests against his authoritarian rule and the growing stranglehold of his family over the economy, Suharto has been the butt of student protests demanding that he be dragged to court -- ill or not.
The trial is scheduled to resume on Thursday – JAKARTA (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
