Judge denies Sia motion seeking medical furlough
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
A federal judge has denied a request by former Honolulu financier Sukamto Sia for a medical furlough from a federal prison where Sia is serving a three-year sentence for bankruptcy fraud.
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Sia was sentenced in March 2002 by U.S. District Judge David Ezra after pleading guilty in late 2001 to bankruptcy and wire fraud charges. Sia, an Indonesian businessman and former chairman of the defunct Bank of Honolulu, admitted participating in a scheme to defraud the bank by obtaining illegal loans that went to Sia or companies he controlled.
Sukamto Sia is in federal prison for bankruptcy and wire fraud.
Ezra also ordered Sia to pay $3.1 million in restitution and sentenced him to five years of supervised release after his term. Sia is serving his sentence at the Giles Dalby Institution Center Correctional Facility in Texas.
In a motion filed Sept. 9, Sia asked for the medical furlough so he can have surgery to remove a benign tumor. Sia also asked that the supervised release portion of his sentence be terminated and that his sentence be terminated and he be deported to Singapore following the surgery.
In a ruling released Oct. 10, Ezra denied all of Sia's motions. Ezra ruled that Sia did not follow proper administrative procedures to obtain a medical furlough, nor did Sia provide records on his medical condition.
Ezra pointed out that Sia's condition was diagnosed in April 2001 and he remained out on bail until March 8, 2002. The judge said Sia chose not to undergo the surgery during this time.
Ezra also said that the Giles Dalby prison has a hospital that provides full medical service.
Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.
