M

akassar District Court on Thursday sentenced South Sulawesi provincial secretariat treasurer Anwar Beddu to two years and ordered him to pay a fine of Rp 500 million (US$55,000) for misusing social assistance funds, or bansos.

The verdict was similar to the sentence demand sought by prosecutors Greafik Loserte and Muhammad Yusuf Putra, who read the indictment in the previous session.

Anwar, 54, was proven guilty of committing graft jointly and continuously, as is stipulated in the 1999 Corruption Law.

In the verdict, presiding judge Zulfahmi and panel judges Muhammad Damis and Rostansar said the defendant was guilty of misappropriating social assistance funds which caused Rp 8.8 billion in state losses.

“The defendant is found guilty of committing graft jointly and continuously, so he is sentenced to two years and fined Rp 500 million,” said Zulfahmi.

He added that Anwar, provincial secretariat treasurer in 2008, had disbursed social assistance funds worth Rp 8.8 billion to 202 social organizations and institutions on behalf of his superior, provincial secretary Andi Muallim, and financial bureau head Yushar Huduri, based on a gubernatorial decree endorsed by Andi Muallim.

Later it was revealed that the 202 institutions were ambiguous or fictitious and were not registered at the administration’s coordinating board.

Some of their addresses were false but the institutions existed; some of the beneficiaries were attached to the institutions, and the amount of funds disbursed to some was not in accordance with that stated in the receipts.

“As treasurer, the defendant failed to adequately conduct verification on the gubernatorial decree signed by provincial secretary Andi Muallim, and prove the truth of recipient institutions of the social assistance funds,” said Zulfahmi.

Due to his misdeeds, the state and province had been deprived of Rp 8.8 billion, based on an audit by the South Sulawesi office Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).

Although the panel of judges convicted the defendant of committing the crime jointly, Anwar was the sole defendant in the case.

“This is not fair. I only executed orders from my superior, provincial secretary Andi Muallim and financial bureau head Yushar Huduri, but I am the only one convicted,” said Anwar.

Anwar and his legal advisor Asmaun Abbas have filed for an appeal.

“We don’t accept the court’s ruling. We will file for an appeal. Logically, if the crime was committed
together, why was my client convicted alone. There were two other people involved. Where are they?” he asserted.