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Hundreds of graft convicts get sentence cuts

The Law and Human Rights Ministry gave sentence reductions to hundreds of graft convicts locked up in the country’s prisons on Independence Day on Monday, including notorious tax official Gayus Tambunan and former Democratic Party treasurer M

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Tue, August 18, 2015

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Hundreds of graft convicts get sentence cuts

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he Law and Human Rights Ministry gave sentence reductions to hundreds of graft convicts locked up in the country'€™s prisons on Independence Day on Monday, including notorious tax official Gayus Tambunan and former Democratic Party treasurer M. Nazaruddin.

According to the ministry'€™s directorate general for penitentiaries spokesperson, Akbar Hadi, the government gave sentence reductions to 2,786 convicts, 1,938 of whom were graft convicts.

Among the graft convicts who received sentence reductions were Gayus, Nazaruddin and his wife Neneng Sri Wahyuni.

The ministry, however, decided against granting sentence reductions to a significant number of graft convicts.

'€œThere are 848 of graft convicts who were not given sentence reductions as they require more assessment,'€ Akbar said on Monday. Among those who were excluded from the list were former Democratic Party lawmaker Angelina Sondakh, former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar and former Banten governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah.

The Jakarta Corruption Court in 2012 sentenced Nazaruddin to four years and 10 months in prison, and ordered him to pay Rp 200 million (US$14,432) in fines after finding him guilty in a corruption case surrounding the development of the Wisma Atlet SEA Games in Palembang, Sumatra. The Supreme Court added three years to his sentence in 2013.

Meanwhile, former tax officer Gayus was sentenced to 30 years in prison on multiple convictions: accepting bribes, failing to report gratuities, money laundering and bribing police officers to escape detention in August 2013.

Gayus received a five-month sentence reduction last year.

According to Government Regulation (PP) No. 99/2012, convicted criminals who agree to act as justice collaborators and have paid their fines are eligible for sentence reductions.

Besides regular sentence reductions, the ministry can grant convicts a dasawarsa (once in 10 years) sentence reduction, except those who have been given the death sentence, life imprisonment and those who have taken part in a prison break.

Contacted separately, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) commissioner Johan Budi said that the government should tighten sentence reduction requirements for convicts found guilty of extraordinary crimes, including graft.

'€œEfforts to eradicate corruption will fail to generate a deterrent effect if sentence reduction requirements for graft convicts are the same as that for others,'€ Johan told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

This year, sentence reductions were also given to a number of foreigners.

In Bali, 41 foreign inmates serving sentences in prisons across the resort island will receive sentence reductions, two of whom will be directly released.

In Yogyakarta province, sentence reductions will be given to 726 inmates, 41 of whom will be released.

Of the 726 inmates receiving sentence reductions, 82 were inmates convicted of special crimes while the remaining 644 were convicted of general crimes. Of the 82 inmates, 67 were convicted in drug cases, three in money laundering cases, eight in corruption cases and four in trafficking cases.

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