T

he graft trial for ad hoc Semarang Corruption Court judge Kartini Marpaung got under way on Tuesday at the very court she was appointed to serve.

A panel of judges was told that Kartini Marpaung allegedly accepted a Rp 150 million (US$15,511) bribe from Heru Kisbandono, a judge appointed to the corruption court in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, to decide in favor of his friend M. Yaeni, the Grobogan Legislative Council speaker, in a case to have been tried by Kartini.

Prosecutor Pulung Rinandoro told the judges that Kartini, who allegedly attempted to extort Rp 500 million from Yaeni’s family, planned to distribute the Rp 150 million to the other judges in Yaeni’s case, Lilik Nuraini and Pragsono, and to a court clerk.

“The cash was received as a gratuity to free Heru from the graft charges, or to impose a light sentence on him,” Rinandoro said.

Investigators from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) caught Kartini red-handed on Aug. 17 accepting Rp 150 million from Yaeni and his sister Sri Dartuti in front of the Semarang Corruption Court.

Another prosecutor, A. Roni, told the court that Kartini initially asked Yaeni for a Rp 500 million bribe to acquit him of the graft charges, an amount that was eventually negotiated down.

The prosecutors called on the panel of judges, presided over by Ifa Sudewi, to impose the harshest sentence possible on Kartini for violating the law on corruption and for violating her position as a judge.

Meanwhile, Heru and Sri Dartuti also went on trial in separate proceedings at the Semarang Corruption Court on Tuesday.

Heru was indicted for brokering the deal between Sri Dartuti and Kartini to obtain a lesser sentence or a dismissal for Yaeni.

Kartini’s attorney, Krisdo Pulungan, called on the judges at the Semarang Corruption Court to move the trial venue to Jakarta to avoid a conflict of interest.

Pulungan said that the trial venue had to be changed according to the code of judicial ethics adopted by the Supreme Court and the Judicial Commission, which stipulated that judges were not allowed to try cases where they were personally acquainted with the suspects.

“This step should be taken to ensure the fair trial of my client,” Krisdo said.

Speaking to reporters after proceedings had adjourned for the day, Krisdo said that he would also contest the prosecutor’s indictment and sentence demand for his client.

“We have found no indications that our client was involved in alleged graft as was stated in the prosecutor’s indictment,” he said.

Krisdo said that the judges who were trying Yaeni did not know about Heru’s visit to the corruption court on Aug. 17, and that Kartini was unaware that Heru had Rp 150 million in cash with him when they met.