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Former senior justice jailed for eight years
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Suspended justice Sudrajad Dimyati leaves the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters in Jakarta after remotely attending a sentencing session of his case held at the Bandung Corruption Court in West Java, on May 29, 2023. Sudrajad was sentenced to eight years in prison and fined Rp 1 billion (US$67,000), or an additional three months in prison in default, for accepting bribes. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
T
he Bandung Corruption Court in West Java sentenced to prison on Tuesday a former Supreme Court justice who was found guilty of accepting bribes to affect a court ruling.
The bench handed down an eight-year sentence and a fine of Rp 1 billion (US$66,693) to Sudrajad Dimyati formerly of the top court’s civil chamber, lighter than the 13 years Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors had demanded, kompas.com reported.
“If the fine is not paid, then it is to be replaced by an additional three months in jail,” presiding judge Yoserizal said, reading out the court ruling on Tuesday.
The Bandung court also ordered Sudrajad to reimburse the S$80,000 ($59,069) that he had obtained from the case.
In the court’s decision, judges counted as aggravating factors in his sentencing that Sudrajad had undermined public trust in the highest court and contravened the government’s efforts to eradicate corruption.
The court justice, who was arrested in September 2022, was found guilty of accepting bribes in return for handing out favorable rulings to two businessmen involved in a civil case against savings and loans cooperative Intidana.
Ivan Dwi Kusuma Sujanto and Heryanto Tanaka allegedly bribed Supreme Court justices, clerks and other workers through their lawyers, Theodorus Yosep Parera and Eko Suparno, with some of the money reportedly being channeled to Sudrajad through clerk Elly Tri Pangestuti.
Read also: Supreme Court faces heavy blow after justice named bribery suspectLast week, the Bandung Corruption Court sentenced Yosep and Eko to eight and five years’ imprisonment, respectively, as well as a fine of Rp 750 million ($50,184) each.
KPK spokesman Ali Fikri confirmed that Sudrajad would be filing an appeal to challenge the court’s ruling, whereas KPK prosecutors will consider their next steps regarding the sentence over the next week.
“[Sudrajad] immediately lodged an appeal,” Ali said.
In recent years, graft scandals involving judges from the highest courts have severely undermined the integrity of the nation’s judicial system, exposing a failure to curb corruption within its ranks.
At least 17 people have been named suspects in the aforementioned Supreme Court graft case, three of whom have been found guilty.
Last week, Supreme Court secretary Hasbi Hasan was interrogated by KPK investigators for allegedly accepting bribes from Heryanto through former PT Wika Beton commissioner Dadan Tri Yudianto.
On Monday, the KPK summoned Windy Yunita Ghemary, known as Windy Idol, a former singing competition contestant, as a witness for questioning in the case involving Hasbi.
