A team from the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office arrested on Thursday former president director of state-owned television station TVRI and graft convict Sumita Tobing, despite the Supreme Court issuing two conflicting verdicts in her case.

Prosecutors arrested 67-year-old Sumita at 11:50 a.m. at JakTV headquarters in the Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD) in South Jakarta.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Jakarta Prosecutor's Office head Adi Toegarisman said Sumita had declined to comply with a Supreme Court verdict in 2011, which sentenced her to 18 months in prison for embezzling state funds of Rp 5.2 billion (US$457,000) during the procurement of television cameras in 2001.

Aside from the prison sentence, the panel of judges ' comprising presiding judge Artidjo Alkostar, M. Taufik and Suryadjaya ' also ordered Sumita to pay a fine of Rp 250 million.

The ruling overturned a 2009 verdict by the Central Jakarta District Court, which had acquitted her of all charges.

Speaking after her latest arrest, Sumita said she refused to comply with her conviction, as the Supreme Court had issued two conflicting rulings on her case.

Also in 2009, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that found Sumita not guilty. That decision was reached by a different panel of justices ' Andi Abu Ayyub Saleh, Djafni Djamal and Muhammad Taufik.

'It [the 2011 verdict] is a void ruling, thus I have sent letters to the Attorney General's Office [AGO], House of Representatives Commission III [overseeing legal affairs and laws] and the Judicial Commission [to address the matter],' Sumita, donning a JakTV uniform, said at the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

The Supreme Court previously maintained that an 'error' in its verdict numbering system had caused its website to provide false information in 2009, and the court insisted that the 2011 verdict was valid.

'The problem has been resolved. The Supreme Court ruling is in kracht [final and binding]; thus, we will enforce it,' Adi said.

Separately, Sumita's lawyer, Erick S. Paat, said he would be sending a letter of objection to the AGO.

'The arrest is an unlawful measure to remove her independence,' Erick said over the telephone.

He was adamant that the 2011 ruling was null, although he acknowledged the results of a Judicial Commission inquiry, which found that none of the Supreme Court judges involved in the 2011 ruling had violated the judiciary's code of ethics in handling Sumita's case.

On Thursday evening, the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office transferred Sumita to a women's detention center in Tangerang, Banten.

Before becoming embroiled in the graft case, Sumita was a widely known and well-respected journalist and media executive.

June 21, 2001
Sumita Tobing named president director of state-owned TVRI television station.

April 2002
TVRI experiences financial difficulties after government cuts subsidies to the station.

April 15, 2003
State Enterprises Ministry picks Hari Sulistyono to be TVRI's new president, replacing Sumita.

Aug. 26, 2003
Sumita questioned by the National Police over her alleged involvement in the
Rp 14.5 billion (US$1.27 million) graft case in the procurement of production equipment.

May 25, 2008
Sumita arrested.

Februrary 2009
Central Jakarta District Court clears Sumita of corruption. Prosecutors file an appeal with the Supreme Court to quash verdict.

Jan. 6, 2011
The Supreme Court sentences Sumita to 18 months in jail.

Mar 13, 2014
Sumita arrested, again.

Source: The Jakarta Post archive

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