T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is looking into the involvement of a Supreme Court official in a bribery case implicating lawyers and the brother of convicted child molester Saipul Jamil.

KPK investigators questioned on Friday Ryan Seftriadi, a civil servant candidate with the Supreme Court, as part of its investigation into case.

The antigraft body has named four suspects in the case, namely Saipul’s lawyers Bertha Natalia and Kasman Sangaji, the convict’s brother Samsul Hidayatullah and North Jakarta District Court registrar Rohadi.

KPK spokesperson Yuyuk Andriati said on Friday that the questioning of Ryan was aimed at uncovering details of the connection between Ryan, who remains a witness in the case, and Bertha.

“We think there is a connection between Ryan and Bertha, because they communicated with each other prior to their arrests,” Yuyuk told reporters at the antigraft body’s headquarters in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

Yuyuk said the KPK was looking to determine whether any Supreme Court officials had been involved in the case.

Rohadi’s lawyer, Hendra Heriansyah, said on Friday he did not know whether there was any involvement of other court officials in the case.

“I was just appointed a lawyer for my client today. Hopefully, I will get in touch with Rohadi next Monday,” he told the media.

Previously, the antigraft body alleged that Saipul, through Bertha, Kasman and Samsul, bribed Rohadi with Rp 250 million (US$18,750) in an attempt to coax judges into giving him a lighter sentence than what was sought by prosecutors.

The prosecutors had charged Saipul, a prominent dangdut singer, under Article 82, paragraph 1, of the 2014 Child Protection Law, for sexually assaulting a young male fan. Prosecutors demanded the court sentence him to seven years behind bars. The provision allows for a maximum of 15 years in prison and a fine of Rp 5 billion.

But the court dropped the initial charge and instead used Article 292 of the Criminal Code on obscenity and homosexuality to sentence Saipul to three years behind bars. The article carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Several corruption cases have implicated officials in the country’s court system of late. Friday’s questioning took place just a day after the first hearing of a mid-ranking Supreme Court official, Andri Tristianto, for purportedly demanding money to adjourn the process of a graft case.

Andri reportedly demanded Rp 400 million from graft convict Ichsan Suaidi through his lawyer Awang Lazuardi for a three-month delay in the execution by the Mataram District Court in West Nusa Tenggara. He had been charged under Article 12 of the 1999 Anticorruption Law for purportedly accepting bribes and gratuities while serving as a state official.

Last month, KPK investigators apprehended the head of the Kepahiang District Court in Bengkulu, Janner Purba and fellow judge Toton, for allegedly accepting bribes to compromise a verdict on a corruption case.

The antigraft body is also investigating a corruption case related to the handling of a case review with the Supreme Court that implicated its secretary Nurhadi and the influential executive of the Lippo Group, Eddy Sindoro.

Nurhadi remains a witness in the case, and has been barred from traveling abroad by the KPK. (mos)