Ex-lawmakers receive jail terms for corruption

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 08/25/2007 1:33 PM

Khairul Saleh, The Jakarta Post, Sekayu

The Sekayu District Court handed down one year jail terms Friday to four former members of the Musi Banyuasin Legislative Council in South Sumatra for embezzling official travel allowances valued at Rp 5.3 billion (approximately US$570,000). The four men -- former council speaker Lili Achmadi and his three deputies Abas Mahdin, Mustofa Hansaria and Zainul Bahri -- served in office between 1999 and 2004.

""The defendants were given one year jail sentences after they were found guilty of violating the 1999 law on corruption,"" presiding judge Syahrul Machmud, who is also the district court head, said after the trial.

Following the verdict, both the prosecutors and defendants said they were yet to decide whether or not to appeal. They have 14 days to submit an appeal.

Prosecutors Asep Sontani and M. Manurung said the defendants should have received harsher sentences.

""If the indictment prepared by the prosecutors was weak, it should have been countered at the start of trial,"" Asep said.

Syahrul said the panel of judges found the primary indictment failed to specify in detail the amount of money embezzled by each of the accused.

The details of the case first emerged at the end of January last year following an investigation by the Sekayu Prosecutor's Office. The case was first tried in June last year. Meanwhile, after an extensive investigation into an alleged corruption case worth up to Rp 4.5 billion, the North Sulawesi Police have named 19 Talaud Island Legislative Council members as suspects.

However, the North Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office is yet to receive notification of the investigation.

North Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Comr. Beny Bela told The Jakarta Post on Friday that police have completed their investigations into the case and have obtained permission from the North Sulawesi governor to detain the suspects.

The police will soon submit dossiers of the case, which was first investigated in 2004, to the prosecutor's office.

North Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Reinhard Tololiu said his office had been waiting to receive a dossier on the case, which had been widely reported on in the local media.

""We haven't received a dossier or letter notifying us of the investigation from the North Sulawesi Police,"" he said.

Reinhart said the police should have notified his office of the investigation in accordance with the Criminal Code.

-- Jongker Rumteh contributed to this story from Manado, North Sulawesi.

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