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Court hands heavier-than-expected graft sentences to former Asabri directors
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Indonesian Armed Forces Social Insurance Agency (Asabri) customer service representatives assist policyholders in Jakarta on Jan. 16, 2020. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he Jakarta Corruption Court has handed heavier-than-expected sentences to four former directors of state insurer PT Asabri convicted of involvement in a multitrillion-rupiah corruption scandal at the institution, arguing that the prosecutors’ sentencing demands were too light given the severity of the crimes.
In a hearing on Tuesday, Sonny Widjaja, who was president director of Asabri from 2016 to 2020, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of Rp 750 million (US$52,210). A failure to pay the fine would result in an additional six months in prison. The judges also ordered Sonny to pay Rp 64.5 billion in restitution.
At the same hearing, Adam Rachmat Damiri, who was Sonny’s predecessor, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and would either be required to pay a Rp 800 million fine or spend an additional six months in prison. Adam was also ordered to pay Rp 17.9 billion in restitution.
Bachtiar Effendi, who was Asabri’s investment and finance director from 2012 to 2014, and Hari Setianto were sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined Rp 750 million each. A failure to pay the fine would add another six months of prison to the sentence.
The judges also ordered Bahtiar to pay Rp 453.7 million in restitution, while Hari, who was Bachtiar’s successor as Asabri’s investment and finance director, was ordered to return Rp 378.88 million to the state.
The sentences of the four convicts were heavier than those sought by prosecutors. In a hearing in December, the prosecutors sought 10 years of imprisonment for Sonny and Adam and 12 and 14 years in prison for Bachtiar and Hari, respectively.
The court found that the four defendants had violated the first paragraph of Article 2 of the 2001 Corruption Law, which stipulates that corruption and embezzlement are punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and Rp 1 billion in fines.
