Jakarta: Hashim demands Dutchman Hugo Kreijger (externe medewerker Wereldmuseum Rotterdam) be summoned
14 November, 2008 – 12:41Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Surakarta
Businessman Hashim Djojohadikusumo will ask the authorities to bring Hugo Kreijger, a Dutch expert on Southeast Asian artifacts, up on charges for fraud, lawyer Nicholay Aprilindo said Thursday.
Hashim is on trial for possessing six protected statues which once belonged to the Radya Pustaka Museum in Surakarta.
Pak Hashim is the victim in the sale of the six statues,” Nicholay told The Jakarta Post after the session adjourned.
“His good reputation is being tarnished. He didn’t know the statues he bought from Kreijger were stolen.”
Nicholay said when his client bought the statues from Kreijger, Hashim thought they were accompanied by authentic certificates from both the Surakarta Palace, which oversees the museum, and the Archeological Conservation and Heritage Center which is responsible for preserving artifacts from the past.
“It turned out the certificates were fake,” the lawyer said.
“My client will likely pursue legal action against Kreijger after completing his own trial.”
The Buddhist statues date back to the fourth century.
Hashim was charged under Article 28 (a) of Law 5/1992 on Protected Cultural Artifacts for not registering with the government his ownership and transportation of items of cultural heritage.
Offenders are subject to a one-year prison term and/or a fine of Rp 10 million (US$921).
After buying the statues, Hashim relocated them from Surakarta to his office and then to his residence in Kemang, South Jakarta, in March 2007.
Hashim’s lawyers presented three witnesses on Thursday: Siswanto Sudomo, deputy chair of the Hashim Djojohadikusumo Family Foundation; Muhammad Junawan of the archeological center; and Suroso, director of archeological heritage at the State Ministry for Culture and Tourism.
All witnesses in the trial expressed support for Hashim.
Siswanto told the court he had reported the statues to be in Hashim’s possession to the archeological directorate in mid 2007, which Suroso confirmed in his testimony.
Suroso said the family foundation had issued a report.
Hashim objected to Junawan’s testimony, however, saying the witness had given inconsistent information.
Junawan, for example, claimed to have reported the case to police, but he could not recall the time or circumstances of any report.
In fact, Junawan had never reported anything to the Surakarta Police.
The panel of judges adjourned the trial for two weeks.
In June, the Radya Pustaka Museum curator, Suhadi Darmodipuro, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for helping steal the six statues and for replacing them with replicas to cover up the crime.
Suhadi sold the statues to Kreijger for between US$3,500 and $20,000 each.
The scam was first uncovered by a former museum employee.
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