Graft appeals court cuts ex-envoy's jail term

Fri, 04/03/2009 2:18 PM  |  National

JAKARTA: The High Corruption Court has reduced the sentence of former Indonesian ambassador to Singapore Mochammad Slamet Hidayat and former embassy treasurer Erizal by five months to two and a half years prison each.

They were also ordered by the corruption appeals court to pay Rp 150 million in fines each or face an additional three to six months prison.

"Slamet must pay Rp 1.8 billion in restitutions while Erizal must pay Rp 136 million, otherwise they will face between three months and one year prison," High Corruption Court judge Madya Suhardja said Thursday.

Slamet and Erizal had each been sentenced to three years in prison by the Corruption Court for embezzling funds set aside for renovating the Indonesian Embassy building in Singapore in 2003.

The embezzlement cost the state Rp 8.4 billion (US$725,000) in losses. The money was distributed to several senior embassy officials. Madya said the judges decided to cut their sentences because Slamet understood he had committed a crime even before the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigated the case, and tried to recover the stolen money from the recipients. He ended up returning Rp 4.4 billion to the state.

"He also returned Rp 1.7 billion of his own money to the state," he said. As for Erizal, his sentence was reduced because he was carrying out an order from a superior to commit a crime. - JP

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