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Podomoro’s Ariesman gets three years in prison
The former executive director of property giant PT Agung Podomoro Land, Ariesman Widjaja, has been sentenced to three years in prison for bribery related to a controversial Jakarta Bay reclamation project.
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Ariesman Widjaja (left) and Trinanda Prihantoro stand trial in a bribery case related to a Jakarta Bay reclamation project on Aug. 22. Corruption court judges sentenced Ariesman to three years in prison and a Rp 200 million fine on Sept. 1. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
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The former executive director of property giant PT Agung Podomoro Land, Ariesman Widjaja, has been sentenced to three years in prison for bribery related to a controversial Jakarta Bay reclamation project.
"He is proven guilty and therefore sentenced to serve three years in prison and a Rp 200 million [US$15,037] fine," presiding judge Sumpeno said at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Thursday.
The sentence was lighter than that sought by prosecutors, who demanded four years in prison and a Rp 250 million fine as Ariesman was deemed to be the mastermind behind the graft. However, the sentence reflected that Ariesman displayed a good attitude in court, had not been involved in crime before and had given a contribution to the Jakarta administration.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named Ariesman a suspect in April after discovering that he gave Rp 2 billion (US$150,375) to former city councilor Muhammad Sanusi to influence the deliberation of draft bills on Jakarta's Zoning Plan and Northern Coastal Territory (RZWP3K) for 2015-2035 and on the draft North Jakarta strategic area regional spatial plan bylaw.
The court previously heard testimony from dozens of witnesses including Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama.
Earlier, Ariesman’s defense team denied the bribery accusations, claiming that the money given to Sanusi was from a friend to help the latter run in next year’s Jakarta gubernatorial election. (fac)
