he Jakarta Corruption Court has sentenced non-active Kutai Kartanegara regent Rita Widyasari to 10 years in prison for her involvement in a bribery case related to various projects in the resource-rich East Kalimantan regency.
In the hearing on Friday, the judges also ordered Rita to pay Rp 600 million (US$41,820) in fines or serve an additional six month in prison. They also banned the defendant from active politics until five years after the end of her sentence.
“The panel of judges hereby declares that the first defendant, Rita, is proven guilty of committing graft,” presiding judge Sugiyono said on Friday, as quoted by tempo.co.
The judges said Rita had been found guilty of accepting Rp 6 billion in bribes from PT Sawit Golden Prima director Hery Susanto, who has also been named a suspect in the case.
Prosecutors from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) alleged that Rita had also received gratuities of Rp 110 billion from the commissioner of PT Media Bangun Bersama, Khairudin, who is Rita's close aide.
The prosecutors had demanded 15 years in prison, but the judges decided to give the defendant a lesser sentence, as she had been cooperative during the trial.
Both Rita and KPK prosecutors said they were still considering whether to accept the sentence or not.
“We will think again about the verdict, Your Honor,” said Rita's lawyer, Wisnu Wardana. (dpk)
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