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panel of judges at the Supreme Court has overturned the decision of a lower court to acquit former Indramayu regent Irianto Mahfud Sidik Syafiuddin, aka Yance, in a corruption case pertaining to the acquisition of 82 hectares of land for the development of a coal-fired steam power plant (PLTU) in Sumuradem, Indramayu, West Java, in 2004.

The ruling was uploaded to the Supreme Court’s official website, mahkamahagung.go.id, on Wednesday. The panel of judges comprised Mohamad Askin, Leopold Luhut Hutagalung and Surya Jaya.

The justices sentenced Yance to four years’ imprisonment and a Rp 200 million (US$ 15,000) fine, or an additional six months in prison. The appeal was filed by prosecutors with the Indramayu Prosecutor’s Office after the Bandung Corruption Court acquitted Yance of all charges on June 11, 2015.

Prosecutor Sarjono Turin with the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) said the appeal was filed because his side considered all the evidence obtained to have met the requirements to build a corruption case against Yance.

The prosecutors initially sought an 18-month prison term and a fine of Rp 200 million for Yance. They accused Yance of marking up the price of procured land for the PLTU project in Sumuradem.

Responding to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Yance, his lawyer Ian Iskandar said that his side would file a judicial review request.

“What is behind all of this? Why was Pak Yance considered responsible for the state losses later?” Ian said. — JP/Arya Dipa