6 days ago
Singapore court rejects prosecutors' bid to strike out fugitive Indonesian's CPIB allegations
SINGAPORE: A district court on 28 May rejected an application by the prosecution to strike out portions of affidavits submitted in the bail hearing of Indonesian fugitive Paulus Tannos.
The affidavits, said to contain allegations against Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), were not disclosed in court.
Tannos, also known as Tjhin Thian Po, was arrested in Singapore on 17 January 2025 by the CPIB following a provisional arrest request from Indonesian authorities.
He has been on Indonesia's wanted list since 19 October 2021 for his alleged role in a massive corruption scandal involving the Indonesian government's electronic identification card (e-KTP) project, which resulted in estimated state losses of 2.3 trillion rupiah (S$181.7 million).
Tannos was the president and director of Sandipala Arthaputra, a technology firm awarded a contract to produce components for the e-KTP project.
According to the Straits Times, Deputy Senior State Counsel Sivakumar Ramasamy told the court on 27 and 28 May that Tannos' defence counsel had requested permission on 15 May to file an affidavit related to his hospitalisation at Changi General Hospital (CGH) between 2 and 9 May.
The court granted the request, and two affidavits were submitted—one by Tannos and another by his lawyer, Paulus Sinatra Wijaya.
However, Sivakumar argued that both affidavits went beyond the scope permitted.
He said parts of Tannos' affidavit addressed his past interactions with the Indonesian authorities and the CPIB, in response to points raised by a CPIB investigating officer regarding his status as a potential flight risk.
Sivakumar added that these matters had already been addressed during an earlier bail hearing, and legal arguments had been made on the same issues.
On 28 May, Tannos' defence lawyer Bachoo Mohan Singh objected to the prosecution's application to strike out the affidavits.
'I've never come across a scenario where, when a man is fighting for his liberty, he is constrained from saying what he wishes to say,' said Singh.
Addressing District Judge Brenda Tan, he added: 'I would not be doing my job if I were to ignore important issues which I consider vital in my client's effort to seek liberty.'
He said the defence had no objection to the prosecution filing a response.
After hearing both sides, Judge Tan rejected the prosecution's application.
'I'm inclined to leave the further affidavits in the application on record in the interest of justice and completeness, and give the state a chance to respond to this,' she said.
However, she told Singh: 'To be fair, you have put in contents which you were not given permission to, so the state has a right of reply.'
Separately, Judge Tan referred to a CGH medical report that had been submitted earlier, noting that she personally knew the senior consultant who signed off on it.
She asked whether either side had concerns with her presiding over the bail hearing.
Both Singh and the prosecution said they had no issue.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Tannos again declined to consent to extradition to Indonesia.
Under the Extradition Act, fugitives can give consent and waive extradition proceedings.
Singapore received Indonesia's provisional arrest request on 19 December 2024.
Following a joint assessment by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC), authorities determined that the request fulfilled the conditions set out in the extradition treaty between both countries.
A warrant was subsequently issued and executed on 17 January 2025.
Indonesia followed up with a formal extradition request on 24 February.
On 10 March, Minister K. Shanmugam confirmed that Singapore was working to expedite the extradition process and reiterated the country's full commitment to upholding its extradition obligations.
The Singapore–Indonesia extradition treaty, which came into force on 21 March 2024, covers offences including corruption, money laundering, and bribery, and allows for the retroactive application of the treaty to crimes committed up to 18 years ago.
A committal hearing to determine whether Tannos should be extradited to face charges has been set for June.
