G

atot Brajamusti, 54, a movie actor convicted of possessing crystal methamphetamine, has been sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay a Rp 1 billion (US$75,000) fine.

The former Indonesian Film Actors Association (Parfi) chairman was sentenced in a hearing at the Mataram District Court in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) on Thursday.

The judges, led by presiding judge Yapi and two panel members Didiek Jatmiko and Yuli Atmaningsih, considered Gatot guilty of possessing, controlling and keeping crystal methamphetamine, which is categorized as a type-1 narcotics, without a permit as regulated in Article 112 (2) of Law No. 35/2009 on narcotics.

“Based on information obtained from witnesses, the defendant and evidence, the panel decides to sentence defendant Gatot Brajamusti to eight years in prison and impose a Rp 1 billion fine, or an additional three months in prison,” said Yapi while reading out the court’s verdict.

The sentence was lighter than what had been demanded by prosecutors led by Ginung Pratidina, who sought a 12-year prison sentence for Gatot.

The court also sentenced Gatot’s wife, Dewi Aminah, 45, in a hearing held shortly after her husband’s session had finished. The judge sentenced Dewi to one-and-a-half years in prison for the misuse of narcotics, violating Article 127 (2) of the 2009 Narcotics Law.

Gatot’s case came to the public’s attention after he was arrested just one day after being elected Parfi chairman during the association’s congress in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. The police made the arrest after a woman reported Gatot to the Jakarta Police, claiming that the actor had raped her after forcing her to use crystal methamphetamine when she was 16 years old. Another woman also filed a report against him with similar accusations.

Gatot’s arrest roped several entertainers into his case. These included movie actress Elma Theana and singer Reza Artamevia, who made him their spiritual guru. The police’s investigation revealed Gatot’s involvement in a number of other crimes. Gatot admitted, for example, to engaging in sex parties with a number of women.

Four people, including Dewi, were with Gatot when police investigators arrested the leader of the spiritual community Padepokan Brajamusti in a raid at Room 1100 of Hotel Golden Tulip in Mataram on Aug. 28, 2016. They found one bag of crystal methamphetamine weighing 0.6 grams inside his trouser pocket. Dewi was also arrested as she was found to have kept one bag of crystal methamphetamine, also weighing 0.6 grams, inside her wallet.

Yapi said one aspect that had increased Gatot’s charges was the fact that he was a public figure.

“Moreover, the government is in a serious fight against narcotics and has stated that this country is in a state of emergency regarding drugs,” said Yapi.

Meanwhile for Dewi, judge Yuli said she was guilty of possessing and keeping narcotics as charged by prosecutors. Dewi was only proven to have used crystal methamphetamine based on the results of her urine test, she said.

“Defendant Dewi is legally and convincingly proven guilty of having misused narcotics for herself, so the judges decide to sentence her to one-and-a-half years in prison,” Yuli said.

Accompanied by his lawyers, Gatot said he would consider the verdict. The eight-year prison sentence imposed on him is too heavy for the crime he had committed, he claimed.

“I’m disappointed. In the Mataram Penitentiary, I will share a room with drug defendants from other cases. Some of them were charged with a four-year sentence and then sentenced to just two years in prison, even though the evidence against them was much stronger than the evidence against me. It’s not fair. I admit that I was wrong but this sentence is too heavy,” said Gatot.

Yapi gave Gatot one week to make a decision. “We will decide whether we will accept it or file an appeal,” said his lawyer, Irfan Suryadinata.