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Convicted Toba Samosir regent still on run
Balige Prosecutorâs Office on Tuesday called on suspended Toba Samosir regent Kasmin Simanjuntak, convicted in a corruption case involving hydro power plant (PLTA) Asahan III, to hand himself in after being at large for two months
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alige Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday called on suspended Toba Samosir regent Kasmin Simanjuntak, convicted in a corruption case involving hydro power plant (PLTA) Asahan III, to hand himself in after being at large for two months.
Head of the prosecutor's office, Jefri Paultje Maukar, said his office had been actively seeking Kasmin, who is on the most-wanted list, for the last two months.
He expressed optimism that Kasmin would be arrested soon.
'Where can he go? The prosecutor's office will continue to hunt him. Rather than being arrested, it would be better for him to surrender,' Jefri told The Jakarta Post, on Tuesday.
Kasmin was sentenced to 18 months in prison by Medan Corruption Court, North Sumatra, in August for corruption in relation to the purchase of land in Pintu Pohan Meranti district, worth Rp 4.4 billion (US$314,285), earmarked for the development of PLTA Asahan III.
Apart from the prison sentence, Kasmin was also fined Rp 250 million, or a further six months in jail. He was ordered to reimburse the state Rp 3.8 billion.
The panel of judges, however, did not order Kasmin's arrest. The prosecutor's office then issued an arrest warrant and this was confirmed by the Medan High Court. Unfortunately, according to Balige District Court's intelligence section head Haris Fadillah, Kasmin had subsequently disappeared. The prosecutor's office, he added, had tried to determine Kasmin's whereabouts, including visiting his house, but had been unable to locate him.
'The convict has disappeared up to this point,' said Haris, adding that Kasmin's entire family had also disappeared not long after Kasmin's disappearance.
He said Kasmin's wife and son were Toba Samosir regency councilors. 'They were not at the office when we looked for them there,' Haris said.
Haris said that on a number of occasions Kasmin had said he wanted to surrender himself to the police but so far it had yet to happen.
'Last September he said he wanted to surrender. But after we waited, he never showed up at the prosecutor's office. This is an insult. This cannot be tolerated,' said Haris, adding that his office was processing Kasmin's travel ban prohibiting him from leaving the country.
The sentence handed down to Kasmin was marked by a dissenting opinion from one of the judges, Ahmad Drajat. According to Drajat, Kasmin deserved a sentence of seven years and a fine of Rp 500 million for blatantly violating Articles 2 and 18 of Law No. 31/1999 on corruption, as stated in the primary charge.
The other two judges, however, felt that Kasmin was only found guilty of violating Articles 3 and 18 of Law No. 31/1999 and Article 3 (2) of Law No. 8/2010 on money laundering as stated in the secondary charge.
