The 19-year-old said she was baffled as to why prosecutors sought a longer sentence for Arga than they did for her mother’s boss, bank owner Robert Tantular.

Arga is allegedly involved in forging a document used by a trading company owned by businessman-turned-politician Muhammad Misbakhun to acquire credit from the bank.

In her blog, alandakariza.com, the young novelist mused on why her mother, whom she claims played almost no role in the case, might go to prison for a decade while prosecutors wanted to send Robert to prison for eight years.

“Ibu was accused of being involved in the granting of several troubled credits, dubbed ‘command credits’ because they could be granted without having to go through usual procedures. Some of the credits were granted without her signature,” one blog positing read.

The blog entry was a trending topic on Twitter on Wednesday. Many expressed sympathy and support of the teen and expressed loathing for the sentence demand, with some calling it the result of the country’s failed judicial system.

Others were critical of Alanda’s supporters.

“It’s stupid if people demand that the mother of Alanda be released merely due to pity after reading her touching blog without understanding the legal facts,” one Twitter user said.

The government’s decision to fund a Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716 million) bailout of Bank Century in 2008 led to public anxiety, several corruption cases and politicking at the House of Representatives.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) said that the sentence demanded by prosecutors was fair and was obtained through a fair trial.

“It was a fair trial. It was revealed that the defendant made a different mistake than her boss did,” AGO spokesperson Nur Rochmat told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

“Prosecutors used this as the basis for their sentence request, which was different from her boss’.”

Nur said that prosecutors requested a 10-year prison term for Arga for document forgery, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment.

Whereas, Nur said, Robert faced only an eight-year prison term request because it was shown at trial that he only failed to ensure that his bank followed certain procedures as stipulated by law. The court eventually sentenced Robert to four years’ imprisonment. Robert was  found not guilty of ordering the disbursement of credit without following certain procedures.

“Regardless if Tantular was the owner, the trial has shown different facts,” Nur Rochmat said.

Nur added that the public should not worry about a possible unjust verdict since there were more cases against Robert being built by the AGO.

“There is a possibility that he will serve more time in prison for another case we are working on,” Nur said.

The Supreme Court levied a nine-year prison sentence on Robert, greater than that handed down by lower courts, for illegally transferring funds, imprudently channeling funds and interfering in bank operations by signing two documents to raise capital and seek new investors for the ailing bank.

Meanwhile, Misbakhun, as the one who applied for the credit, was sentenced one year in prison.

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