Investigators on Wednesday questioned the governor of Aceh province over his alleged role in a multimillion-dollar graft case in the war-torn region.

Abdullah Puteh has arrived and the questioning is proceeding, chief of detectives Gen. Suyitno Landung told reporters at the national police headquarters.

The police probe is focused on the alleged marking up of the price of power generators purchased for the provincial administration, for which the central government allotted Rp30 billion (US$3.3 million), Landung said.

A local businessman who served as the main contractor on the project, has been arrested in Aceh.

Puteh has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which is believed to have complicated the hand-over of control from the military to a civilian authority after the government in Jakarta downgraded a state of martial law in Aceh to a state of emergency last month.

A year ago, the government imposed military rule in Aceh after it pulled out of internationally brokered peace talks and launched a large-scale offensive to crush the Free Aceh Movement separatist group which has been fighting for independence since 1976.

Source: The Jakarta Post, June 3, 2004
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20040602151720...