Ex-consul gets 20 months for charging illegal fees

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 09/30/2006 9:37 AM

Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Anticorruption Court on Friday sentenced Erick Hikmat Setiawan, a former consul general in Penang, Malaysia, to 20 months in prison for charging illegal fees for passport processing.

He also was fined Rp 100 million (about US$11,000) and ordered to serve another three months in jail if he failed to pay the fine.

""The defendant was found guilty of abusing his position and authority,"" presiding judge Mansyurdin Chaniago said when reading the verdict.

He added that the consulate illegally charged extra fees to people applying for immigration documents during Erick's tenure from 2004-2005.

The judges said Erick continued the policy of his predecessors who applied double pricing scheme for passport services.

When he assumed his post on Feb. 19, 2004, Erick was told by Muhammad Khusnul Yakin, a staffer at the consul, that the office imposed higher passport fees than the official rates. Erick did not stop the practice, the judges said.

The amount of the official rate was transferred to the government to provide state revenue.

Prosecutors from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) previously sought three years imprisonment and a fine of Rp 150 million for Erick.

Prosecutor Wisnu Baroto said Erick inflated the fee for obtaining a passport from the official price of between 90 and 120 Malaysian ringgit (about US$25-33) to 140 ringgit.

Erick also increased the family passport fee from 210 ringgit to 220 ringgit, and charged an additional 210 - 220 ringgit for expedited service.

Prosecutors said Erick reaped Rp 513 million from the passport services. The Penang consulate general issued 29,615 passports from 2003 to 2005.

But the court cited testimony from witnesses that Erick did not personally benefit from the funds, but used them to cover operational costs.

""The defendant did not enjoy them (the funds). The demand that the defendant pay compensation for state losses should therefore be rejected,"" judge Sofialdi said.

Erick said he would appeal and argued he was only acting on the orders of his superiors. ""I'm innocent,"" he said.

His wife and children, who attended the trial, also said Erick was a scapegoat.

""Let the truth be told,"" Erick's son, Richard, cried out while escorting his father out of the courtroom.

Erick said the policy of applying double pricing scheme had been going on since 1999, and thus previous consul generals also should be tried. He named former consul generals Brig. Gen. Herman Hidayat and Noro Adisucipto.

""The thing is that they served before KPK was established,"" he said.

Erick also said the illegal fees also were applied by other consulates in Malaysia, such as those in Kinabalu, Johor Bahru and Tawau.

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