T

he panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday sentenced Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Adriansyah to three years behind bars for accepting bribes from a businessman in April, while in power as a House of Representatives lawmaker.

Adriansyah is the first active House lawmaker for the 2014-2019 period as well as the first ruling party politician to be arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and sentenced in a graft case in a series of sting operations by the antigraft body in 2015. He was arrested in his sixth month of serving as a first-time lawmaker between October 2014 and April 2015.

In addition to the lenient sentence, the member of House Commission IV overseeing agriculture, forestry, fisheries and the environment was also ordered to pay a Rp 100 million fine for his offenses of receiving Rp 1 billion and US$50,000 from businessman Andrew Hidayat in return for helping to secure a coal mining permit for the businessman'€™s company in Tanah Laut, South Kalimantan.

If he cannot pay the fine, he will be required to serve another month behind bars.

'€œOur examination into the case has found the defendant guilty of corruption,'€ presiding judge Tito Suhud said at the court on Monday night.

Adriansyah, prior to his election as a lawmaker, was regent of the resource-rich Tanah Laut from 2003 to 2013. In order to retain control of the regency, the PDI-P politician installed his son Bambang Alamsyah as Tanah Laut regent in 2013.

Adriansyah was caught red-handed accepting money on the sidelines of the PDI-P'€™s national congress in Bali, where President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and party chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri were also present.

Adriyansah was fired from the party days after his arrest due to what the PDI-P deemed as '€œcommitting an inappropriate act on the sidelines of the party'€™s highest decision-making forum'€.

The sentence was lighter than the five-year punishment demanded by KPK prosecutors, who also called on the court to order the politician to pay Rp 250 million in fines or serve an additional three months in jail should he fail to make the payment.

The court found Adriyansah had violated Article 12 of the 1999 Corruption Law, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars for state officials who accept bribes while in office. The court said that Adriansyah deserved the sentence because he had admitted to his wrongdoings in the case.

Meanwhile, another Rp 500 million was given to Adriansyah on Nov. 20, 2014, as well as Rp 500 million on Jan. 28, 2015. He was arrested while accepting $50,000 at the PDI-P congress.

Adriansyah said that he accepted the sentence and would not challenge it at the Jakarta High Court. Meanwhile, KPK prosecutors said they were considering challenging the lenient sentence.

The KPK has charged 37 lawmakers in its investigations, seven of whom, including Adriansyah, were arrested for allegedly accepting bribes from businessmen.

The other six former sitting lawmakers are Al Amin Nasution of the United Development Party (PPP), Bulyan Royan of the Reformation Star Party (PBR), Abdul Hadi Djamal of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Chairun Nisa of the Golkar Party, former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Luthfi Hasan and Dewi Yasin Limpo of the Hanura Party.

All of them have been thrown in jail except Dewi, who was arrested and apprehended by the KPK in late October for allegedly accepting S$177,700 in bribes from businessman Septiadi Jusuf with regard to deliberations on state funding for a micro-hydro power plant in Papua worth hundreds of billions of rupiah. The KPK is still completing Dewi'€™s dossier before sending her case to court.