The presiding judge who acquitted tax officer Gayus Tambunan admitted to having received Rp 50 million (US$5,550) from the defendant, Judicial Commission chairman Busyro Muqoddas said Friday.
Tangerang District Court chief Muhtadi Asnun made the admission in his first questioning session at the commission on Thursday.
Busyro said Muhtadi expressed guilt for receiving the money. "He admitted he had violated the judge's code of ethics. He said he truly regretted doing that," Busyro told The Jakarta Post.
During the hearing, Muhtadi also admitted that he had once asked a clerk from the Tangerang District Court to pick up and escort Gayus home and make the illegal transaction.
Previously in March, Asnun denied allegations he received a bribe. He also said he was not alone in deciding to acquit Gayus. The two other judges were Haran Tarigan and Bambang Widiatmoko.
This finding contradicts the result of a similar probe by the Supreme Court's supervisory division last month, which found no evidence of graft during Gayus' trial.
"The acquittal was clearly due to consideration by the judges, based on the indictment and presented testimonies," Supreme Court spokesman Nurhadi said.
Busyro said that although Muhtadi admitted to receiving money, the commission had not decided on an appropriate punishment.
"We cannot form a conclusion until we finish investigating all three judges in the case," Busyro added.
The three judges cleared Gayus of corruption charges on March 12.
The Judicial Commission will summon Haran and Bambang on Monday.
If found guilty, the judges may face administrative sanctions ranging from reprimands to dismissal.
The commission kicked off its investigation into the Gayus case after studying the verdict for a month. A team of five judicial commissioners found indications that the judges may have violated the code of ethics.
One of the commissioners, Zainal Arifin, said Thursday's questioning of Muhtadi was disappointing because key questions remained unanswered.
"It seems he was hiding something. We asked about the judicial code of ethics and he failed to provide satisfactory answers," Zainal said.
Gayus, 30, was a low-level tax official who amassed Rp 28 billion in his personal bank account.
He was later tried for allegedly embezzling "only" Rp 380 million after businessman Andi Kosasih gave false testimony that the rest of the money was his.
Prosecutors also charged Gayus under the "lighter" Criminal Code where he faced a maximum punishment of 5 years in prison, instead of the Corruption Law that carries heavier punishments.
The Gayus case snowballed after former National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji revealed last month that a number of senior police officers had allegedly fixed the investigation into the case.
As more revelations arose, signs hinted at set ups in the police investigation, prosecution and trial.
Several police officers, prosecutors and tax officials have been sanctioned following the revelation.
Susno also hinted that a Mr. X was the man orchestrating the case brokering. Mr. X was later identified as ex-diplomat Sjahril Djohan, who has since been arrested.
Gayus himself was escorted home from Singapore last month by police detectives and members of the Judicial Anticorruption Taskforce.
