Indonesian police detain state power chief

JAKARTA - Indonesian national police have detained the head of the country's state electricity company in relation to graft in the construction of a power plant, police and his lawyer said.

Eddie Widiono, president director of PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), had already been named last month as a suspect in a corruption case involving two power plant projects, which police said could have inflicted 200 billion rupiah ($36 million) worth of losses to the state.

"Since last night, the president director of PLN has been detained after undergoing investigations," Bambang Kuncoko, a national police spokesman, said.

He said the police had obtained enough evidence for the arrest after interrogating the suspect three times.

The case centres on the procurement process for two power plant projects in Indonesia's South Sumatra and Central Java provinces, each of which is alleged to have caused losses to the state of as much as 100 billion rupiah.

Widiono's lawyer, Maqdir Ismail, confirmed the detention and told Reuters his client was innocent.

According to the daily Jakarta Post, Ismail also said the police investigation was based on an audit report that initially claimed irregularities but was later revised to state there were none.

The case marks the latest development in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's effort to fight chronic corruption, which analysts say is one obstacle to Indonesia's efforts to attract more foreign investment.

PLN has a virtual monopoly over power supply in much of Indonesia.

- REUTERS