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ADANG: Anticorruption activists in West Sumatra have questioned the leniency of the sentence demanded for former Dharmasraya regent Marlon Martua Situmeang.

Prosecutor Ridwan Joni and Budhi Pujo, from the Pulau Punjung District Prosecutor'€™s Office, sought a three-year sentence and a fine of Rp 4.2 billion (US$301,000) for Marlon in the trial heard by Judge Reno Listowo at the Padang Corruption Court on Thursday.

Marlon, who served as Dharmasraya regent from 2005 to 2010, has been accused of involvement in a markup in land procurement for a hospital project, estimated to have caused losses to the regency of Rp 4.2 billion.

Padang Legal Aid Institute director Era Purnama Sari said the indictment showed a lack of sense in fighting corruption.

'€œMarlon is a former official involved in a corruption case, who from the start was most uncooperative. He fled and became a fugitive for two years and is alleged to have embezzled more than Rp 4 billion. The sentence demand of three years is very odd and suspicious,'€ Era told The Jakarta Post on Friday.