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View all search resultsProsecutors seek seven years for Thomas Lembong in sugar graft case
Attorney General’s Office (AGO) prosecutors demanded that the bench declare former trade minister Thomas Lembong guilty in a corruption case pertaining to sugar imports and sentence him to seven years behind bars.
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Former trade minister and graft defendant Thomas Lembong (left) embraces his wife Maria Franciska Wihardja (right) upon entering the Jakarta Corruption Court courtroom on Friday in Jakarta ahead of a hearing. Prosecutors demanded that the judges sentence Thomas to seven years behind bars for his alleged role in a corruption case pertaining to raw sugar imports. (Antara/Indrianto Eko Suwarso)
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rosecutors have demanded a seven-year prison sentence for former trade minister Thomas Lembong for his alleged role in a corruption case pertaining to raw sugar imports.
In addition to the prison term, Attorney General’s Office (AGO) prosecutors also urged the panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court to slap the defendant with a Rp 750 million (US$46,236) fine, as reported by Antara.
The former minister is standing trial in a corruption case pertaining to sugar imports during his term as a trade minister between 2015 and 2016. He was accused of manipulating raw sugar import policies to enrich himself and at least 10 other individuals, most of whom were representatives of sugar companies.
In the indictment letter, prosecutors alleged that Thomas had issued import permits without seeking approval at ministerial coordination meetings or obtaining recommendations from related institutions.
His policies had allegedly caused state losses of some Rp 578 trillion.
Read also: Thomas Lembong strikes defiant tone in first corruption hearing
At the first hearing in March, Thomas and his legal team objected to the prosecutor’s accusations, arguing that the indictment was invalid for contradicting provisions in the 2001 Anticorruption Law.
