Indonesian top judge held for bribery faces drugs claim

A top Indonesian judge, arrested this week for allegedly accepting bribes worth more than USD 300,000, could face drugs charges after investigators found illicit substances in his office, an official said.

The detention of constitutional court chief judge Akil Mochtar on Wednesday followed the arrest of the country's top energy regulator in August and a string of corruption cases linked to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling Democratic Party.

"During the search of Akil's office, investigators found items suspected to be illegal drugs," Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) spokesman Johan Budi said at a press conference on Friday.

An unnamed source at the KPK said investigators found marijuana, but the amount was unclear.
 

The Jakarta Globe newspaper said yesterday that the judge slapped a local journalist in the face after he was asked whether he would be ready to have his fingers cut off over his bribery case.