Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a court hand down a sentence of four years in prison to the former president director of property giant, PT Agung Podomoro Land, Ariesman Widjaja, accusing the businessman of masterminding a high-profile bribery case surrounding the controversial reclamation projects in Jakarta Bay.

The prosecutors claimed that Ariesman was the prime actor in the alleged bribery of former city councilor Muhammad Sanusi of council Commission D, which oversees city development affairs.

The bribe was allegedly intended to influence Jakarta’s north-coast zoning plan for 2015-2035 and the North Jakarta strategic area regional spatial plan draft bylaw.

If amended in Ariesman’s favor, the bylaws would have aided developers in their projects to construct artificial islands in Jakarta Bay.

The prosecutors claimed that the wrongful act was an extraordinary crime because it contravened the government’s stated mission to reduce corruption.

“We demand he be sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of Rp 250 million (US$19,110) or subsidiary imprisonment of six months,” prosecutor Fikri Ali told the Jakarta Corruption Court. “He is proven to have committed an extraordinary crime by committing bribery, an act that directly contravenes the efforts of the government to curb such practices.”

The prosecutors said they were convinced the graft case was related to the reclamation project after questioning 26 witnesses including Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who knew Ariesman and considered his company to be one of the most compliant developers involved in the projects.

The prosecutors also scrutinized Ariesman’s mobile phones, discovering conversations concerning the draft bylaws between him and Sanusi.

“The defendant is proven to have objected to the contribution fee demanded by the Jakarta administration,” Ali said.

The sentence demanded for Ariesman is heavier than that demanded for his personal assistant Trinanda Prihantoro, who is standing trial concurrently.

Trinanda could face three and a half years in prison and a fine of Rp 200 million.

While he was involved in the process of paying money to Sanusi, the prosecutors consider him a mere stooge of his boss Ariesman.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in April named Ariesman a suspect after discovering that he had paid Sanusi a total of Rp 2 billion.

The prosecutors also charged Ariesman with an attempt to persuade Sanusi to lower the 15 percent contribution fee required by the Jakarta administration in exchange for permission to reclaim land for development.

Ariesman’s lawyer Adardam Achyar said that the term “mastermind” was overblown and that prosecutors should not dismiss out of hand the explanation that the money given to Sanusi was only a form of help paid between friends.

According to testimony from Ariesman in a previous hearing earlier this month, the money given had nothing to do with reclamation project but was rather intended to help support Sanusi’s campaign for next year’s Jakarta elections.

“The prosecutors also failed to prove that Sanusi alone was capable of influencing the decision of the entire commission. Nor, moreover, has any other city councillor testified to having been influenced by Sanusi,” Achyar said after the hearing.

The trial will continue on Aug. 22, when the court will hear the defendants’ defense. (fac)

Popular

Fifteen dead in South Sulawesi landslides, floods: BNPB

More than meets the eye in photo of orangutan ‘offering help’ to man

How US campus protests over Gaza differ from Vietnam war era