Faisal Abda'oe dies from illness

Former president director of state oil and gas company Pertamina Faisal Abda?oe died on Wednesday at Siloam Gleneagles hospital in Tangerang west of Jakarta where he had been treated for illness, a Pertamina spokesperson said.

He died at 6:40 PM on Wednesday, several days after being admitted into the hospital, Ridwan Nyak Baik told Petromindo.com.

Faisal will be buried on Thursday in Yogyakarta, his hometown, Ridwan said.

Faisal was one of they key witnesses to the corruption case related to the Balongan, West Java, oil refinery project. Pertamina and private owned contractors PT Ustraindo Petro Gas and Perta Oil signed a technical assistance contract for the project during the era of former authoritarian president Suharto.

The Attorney General Office had planned to examine Faisal and other top names implicated in the Balongan case including former energy ministers Ginandjar Kartasasmita and IB Sudjana, and jailed conglomerate leader Bob Hassan. (Godang)