The tycoon, Djoko Sugianto Tjandra, fled to neighboring Papua New Guinea just a day before the Supreme Court announced its verdict and he reportedly obtained a passport there. Djoko, who owns a five-star hotel in Central Jakarta, then wanted to come home as a free man. He never thought of returning the money and serving his prison term, and knew very well how to do it – while also, as a devout believer, praying for God’s help.

The drama involving Djoko began in 1999 when Indonesia was enduring the impacts of the Asian financial crisis, one year after Soeharto stepped down from his 32-year dictatorship. As a part of its bailout agreement with the IMF, the government of then president BJ Habibie disbursed the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) funds to rescue cash-starved banks, including Bank Bali. The liquidity assistance became a scandal as it involved top politicians and businesspeople, including Djoko. 

The South Jakarta District Court acquitted Djoko of all charges in 2000. But following an appeal filed by state prosecutors, the Supreme Court found Djoko guilty in June 2009 and sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment and ordered him to pay Rp 546 billion (US$38.7 million) in restitution to the state.

The Supreme Court also sent former Bank Indonesia governor Syahril Sabirin to jail in the same case.

Djoko was too confident that his old magic -- bribing officials – would work forever. He bribed a low-ranking official at the Attorney General’s Office and two police generals to ensure his smooth homecoming. But he forgot the power of an old Indonesian proverb “Sepandai pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh juga” (as smart as a squirrel jumps, it also falls).

From his hiding place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Djoko began his own salvation mission. He met with state prosecutor Pinangki Sirna Malasari and agreed to give her US$500,000 of a total $1 million to orchestrate his acquittal by the Supreme Court.

I cannot understand how Djoko was so convinced by the promise of a junior prosecutor like Pinangki. But knowing his reputation, Djoko must have collected enough evidence that Pinangki was the right person to save him.

In order to return home unmolested, Djoko also bribed police Insp. Gen. Napoleon Bonaparte and Brig. Gen. Prasetijo Utomo to remove his name from the Interpol Red Notice list. The two generals proved worthy of their promise and accepted what they regarded as their deserved rewards from the briber.

But just like the squirrel in the old proverb, Djoko was captured by the Indonesian police with the help of Malaysian police in Kuala Lumpur in July 2020 before his magic could work.

In April of this year, the Jakarta Corruption Court found Djoko guilty of bribing Pinangki $500,000, Bonaparte $370,000 plus S$200,000, and Prasetijo $100,000. Djoko was sentenced to four and half years in jail, while the two generals received four and three years, respectively, in separate trials.  Djoko also has to serve the previous two-year term and pay restitution.

What about Pinangki, the 40-year-old female prosecutor? The Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced her to 10 years’ imprisonment in February, compared with a four-year jail term demanded by prosecutors. She was found guilty of accepting $500,000 in bribes from Djoko.

During her trial, her sister, Pungki, testified that she accompanied Pinangki to the United States for “nose surgery” and to check “her breast” and they stayed at the Trump Tower during their three American dream visits.

Remember the squirrel’s story? Pinangki fell, but she immediately tried to regain her feet.

She challenged her sentence and last week three honorable judges awarded her a generous 60 percent discount on her prison term. What quick service!

The panel of judges at the Jakarta High Court were so touched by Pinangki that they cut her sentence from 10 years to only four years. Were the judges worried about the public outcry? I do not think so, because they knew if there were noisy protests they would only last a few days.

To be honest, I was really amazed by the simple arguments of judges Muhammad Yusuf, Haryono, Singgih Budi Prakoso, Lafat Akbar and Renny Halida Malik. Among the commutating factors in reducing Pinangki’s prison time was the fact that she has a 4-year old child and therefore she “deserves to be given the opportunity to nurture her child’s growth”.

“As a woman, the defendant must get attention, protection and she deserves to be treated fairly,” the judges said as reported by The Jakarta Post in its June 18 edition.  She is now preparing her final bid to win the hearts of Supreme Court justices.

My conclusion from the saga is, if you go to court do not waste your money on hiring expensive lawyers. You can keep all you have when you appeal to the High Court and the Supreme Court. Do not run away after your conviction. Just serve it, and then you should learn from the experiences of other corruption convicts on how to get freedom much earlier than you should do.

What about the law enforcers? You can use this story to realize your ambition, either for good or evil purpose. Look at Pinangki. Her story is an inspiration for a movie for good or bad purposes, including, of course, her medical trip.

***

Senior editor at The Jakarta Post

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