Indonesia - Corruption convicts told to give back cash

JAKARTA - In response to mounting public pressure for the courts to relieve corruption convicts of all of the money they have stolen, the Jakarta Corruption Court on Tuesday ordered a graft convict to do just that.

The Jakarta Corruption Court on Tuesday sentenced Ridwan Sanjaya, an official from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, to six years in prison for rigging a tender bid for a home solar energy system project in 2009 worth Rp 526 billion (US$57.86 million).

Ridwan was found guilty of accepting Rp 14.6 billion in kickbacks from the rigged-procurement project, causing Rp 131 billion in state losses. The court also ordered Ridwan to pay Rp 13.1 billion in restitutions to the state.

"If he fails to pay this within one month, the court will confiscate his assets. And if the assets do not cover the total amount, he must serve another year in jail," presiding judge Gusrizal said.

Ridwan's alleged co-conspirator, who is on trial in a separate case, allegedly pocketed the other Rp 1.5 billion from the Rp 14.6 billion that Ridwan stole.

The court also ordered Ridwan to pay a fine of Rp 250 million or serve an additional three months in jail.

In another trial on Tuesday, prosecutors for the Attorney General's Office demanded that the Jakarta Corruption Court order former KPK administrative staffer Endro Laksono pay Rp 388 million in restitution to the state to cover the state losses he allegedly caused through graft.

"The money belonged to the KPK, which, without doubt, was state money. The defendant has not returned it yet," prosecutor Mochamad Novel said.

Prosecutors found Endro guilty of embezzling Rp 388 million from the Rp 1.5 billion transportation budget for the KPK's prevention unit that he handled between February and December 2009.

Endro's superior became suspicious when at the end of 2009 Endro submitted a administrative report that left Rp 388 million unaccounted for.

The prosecutors said Endro had used the money to pay a dukun (shaman) named Syamsuri Maarif in West Java, who claimed that he could double the money.

Meanwhile, the Medan Corruption Court in North Sumatra sentenced former Pematangsiantar mayor Robert Edison Siahaan to eight years in prison for embezzling money from the local budget in 2007, causing state losses of Rp 7.7 billion.

The judges also ordered Robert to return the money that he embezzled.

Presiding judge Jonner Manik said that should Robert fail to return the money, the state would confiscate all of his assets or he would spend an additional four years in prison.

In the indictment, prosecutors said that Robert in February 2007 had ordered his staff to cut budget for the Municipal Public Work Agency by 40 per cent and used the money to pay for his personal affairs.

Robert, who ran as a candidate in the 2008 North Sumatra gubernatorial election, said he would appeal the verdict.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said that ordering the payment of restitution was not intended only as corruption a deterrent, but also constituted "an effort to retrieve stolen state funds".

The KPK's enforcement unit recovered Rp 134.65 billion in state funds from convicted corruptors in 2011, Rp 179.99 billion in 2010 and Rp 142.99 billion in 2009.

Big-fish criminals

June 22, 2009: Ranendra Dangin (former finance director of RNI), ordered to pay a Rp 150 million fine or serve an additional three months should he fail to do so, as well as Rp 4.4 billion in restitution to the state.

July 17, 2009: Mulyono Subroto (former supplier to Manpower and Transmigration Ministry), ordered to pay Rp 150 million (S$18,641) in fine and Rp 1.2 billion in restitution to the state loses.

The judges ordered him to serve three extra months' imprisonment should he fail to pay the fine.

Oct. 28, 2009: Yohanes Waworuntu (businessman), ordered to pay a Rp 200 million-fine or serve an additional four months in jail, and Rp 3.5 billion in restitution to the state, or serve another one year in jail.

April 14, 2010: Hengky Samuel Daud (businessman). The initial verdict imposes a Rp 500 million fine and demands Hengky pay Rp 82.64 billion in restitution to the state and face three years jail if he failed to pay.

Aug. 24, 2010: Budiarto Maliang (commissioner of PT Kimia Farma), ordered to pay Rp 100 million (US$11,110) fine or else serve three months more in prison, as well as pay Rp 2.1 billion in restitution to the state.

Dec. 16, 2010: Hesyam Al Warouq and Rafat Ali Risvi (businessmen), ordered to pay Rp 3.1 trillion (US$344.1 million) fine.

Ina Parlina and Apriadi Gunawan

The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network

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