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s widely expected, the Jakarta Corruption Court convicted on Monday suspended Banten governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah of graft. Not only will she stay longer behind bars, having already been detained since last December, but she will also definitely lose her gubernatorial post, as stipulated by the 2004 Regional Administration Law.

What has disappointed the public at large, as well as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), is the fact that the panel of judges handed down a four-year prison sentence to Atut, far lighter than the KPK prosecutors'€™ demand of 10 years'€™ imprisonment, despite Atut being convicted of ordering the payment of Rp 1 billion (US$ 85,351) in bribes to then Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar.

The punishment is too lenient to deter other regional leaders who have the intent of abusing the people'€™s mandate in order to enrich themselves, their families and their cronies, which will erode public trust in regional autonomy, one of the fruits of reformasi.

Only two months ago, the same court carved out a place in history when it sentenced Akil to life in prison, the most severe punishment ever in the country'€™s fight against graft. Akil was found guilty of accepting bribes from, among other figures, Atut.

The yawning gap between the prison terms given to Akil and Atut will incite questions about the consistency of the court in combating graft, although oftentimes judges may not press for a heavy prison sentence due to less-convincing charges. Such a query makes sense because the same court sentenced Atut'€™s brother, Tubagus Chaeri '€œWawan'€ Wardana, to five years in prison for executing his sister'€™s plan to bribe Akil.

In the case of Atut, a mastermind has been sentenced more lightly than an accomplice.

Although one of the judges dissented the sentence for the suspended governor because no witnesses testified that Atut did order Wawan to bribe Akil, the court also heard that, when Atut met Akil in Singapore in September 2013, she asked for his help to settle election disputes not only in Lebak, but also in Serang and Tangerang. The powerful role of Atut was obvious as far as the court hearings were concerned: She exercised her power to make sure her preferred candidates, including the Amir Hamzah and Kasmin pair in Lebak, would win.

Hopes abound that next time the court hears a graft case involving Atut and Wawan, the panel of judges will take the propensity to corrupt into account in delivering its verdict. Law enforcers are currently investigating the alleged misuse of funds in the procurement of medical equipment in the province.

It is possible that the siblings may have their jail sentences doubled. Although, according to Indonesian law, if convicted again they would only serve the longer prison term rather than having their sentences accumulated.

It is this phenomenon of '€œbrothers in crime'€ or nepotism that sadly has remained overlooked compared to corruption, despite the equal damage that each has done. Nepotism helped Atut to build and sustain her dynasty, both in politics and business.