Deputy mayor gets four years for corruption

Erwida Maulia ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 10/09/2008 10:32 AM  |  National

The Corruption Court on Wednesday sentenced Medan Deputy Mayor Ramli to four years in prison for embezzling state money in the procurement of a fire truck and misusing the municipal budget.

The court also ordered Ramli to pay Rp 200 million (US$20,833) in fines, or face an additional two months in prison; as well as Rp 6.92 billion in restitution for state losses, or face an extra two years in prison.

The sentence was handed down a month after the court sent Medan Mayor Abdillah to prison for five years for his role in the same case.

Wednesday's sentencing was lighter than what Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors had demanded -- a five-year prison sentence, Rp 500 million in fines and Rp 18.1 billion in restitution to the state or an extra three years in prison.

"Defendant Ramli was found legally and convincingly guilty of committing collective graft," presiding judge Sutiono read out during the sentencing.

The panel of judges concluded Ramli had conspired with Abdillah to directly appoint PT Satal Nusantara as the supplier of the fire truck, and to mark up its price.

The truck was priced at nearly Rp 12 billion, but an identical truck purchased by the North Sumatra administration only cost Rp 9 billion.

The judges said Ramli had received Rp 1.2 billion from Satal, Rp 200 million of which he distributed to several officials to cover his tracks.

The judges also said Ramli and Abdillah were guilty of embezzling Rp 50.6 billion from Medan's budget between 2002 and 2006, citing over Rp 5 billion had gone to Ramli and Rp 11.5 billion to Abdillah. Some Rp 32.4 billion went to other parties to cover for the pair's dealings.

These other parties included municipality officials and local police officers, speakers and members of the City Council, and auditors from the State Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP).

Prosecutors previously said Ramli, Abdillah and their families had used the embezzled money for traveling and buying home appliances.

However, the judges pointed to mitigating factors, including Ramli's efforts to return the embezzled money.

Defense lawyer Sitor Situmorang said his client would study the verdict before deciding whether to appeal. He said the four-year sentence was the minimum sentence in a graft case, and one they had earlier sought.

Padjadjaran University law expert Ramli Atmasasmita told The Jakarta Post that with so many other people implicated in the graft case, the KPK should widen its investigation to include other potential suspects, especially those mentioned as having received embezzled funds in the verdict read out by the Corruption Court judges.

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