Free soccer tickets for RI matches gratuity: KPK

JAKARTA: The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said that free tickets to attend national soccer matches during the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup are a form of gratuity.  

“State officials who received such free tickets have to report them to KPK,” KPK deputy chairman Mochammad Jasin said Tuesday.

He emphasized that free soccer tickets were “a form of gratuity, just like the law specified”. “Remember that gratuity includes things that can be cashed in. So, discount coupons, plane tickets and soccer match tickets are gratuity,” he said.

The 2001 Law on Corruption instructs state officials to report gratuities they receive. Those who fail to report gratuities will be charged with corruption.

Jasin clarified that the rule on gratuity does not put a minimum value on goods that must be reported. When Indonesia’s soccer team won the semifinal 1-0 over the Philippines in the second leg at the Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta, the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) sold tickets at prices ranging from Rp 150,000 (US$ 16.65) to Rp 1 million ($111). — JP