Ex-Batang regent gets 1.5 years for graft

Paper Edition | Page: 5

SEMARANG: The former regent of Batang in Central Java, Bambang Bintoro, was sentenced to 1.5 years imprisonment and was ordered to pay Rp 50 million (US$5,545) in fines after he was found guilty of embezzling funds from the regency’s 2004 budget to pay for insurance policies.

Bambang, a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), was convicted of stealing Rp 796 million from the regency’s budget in order to pay insurance premiums for the 45 members of the regental legislature.

“The defendant is convincingly proven guilty of committing corruption as stated in the indictment,” Noor Edyono, the chair of the panel of judges, said when he read the verdict in the corruption trial at the Semarang District Court on Monday.

The penalty was far lighter than the prosecution’s demand of four years imprisonment.

Noor said that what Bambang had done for the 45 councillors was corruption even though he did not enjoy the benefits of the money himself.

Outside the court, Bambang, dressed in the style of Jokowi, the winner of last week’s Jakarta gubernatorial election, said he would likely appeal to a higher court because he had not intended to commit corruption.

He said he was punished because the panel of judges believed that he took part in graft and he would consider bringing the case to the High Court.