Prosecutors demanded a five-year prison sentence for former Lippo Group executive Billy Sindoro on Thursday for allegedly giving bribes to officials in Bekasi, West Java, to ease the issuing of permits for the Meikarta property megaproject.

In a trial hearing at the Bandung Corruption Court, the prosecutors demanded the maximum sentence for Billy because this was the second time he had been involved in a corruption case.

“The aggravating factor is that the defendant had been sentenced for another bribery case related to the Business Competition Supervisory Commission [KPPU] and [in the Meikarta case] he did not plead guilty,” said prosecutor I Wayan Riana.

Charged with violating Article 5 of Law No. 20/2001 on corruption, he may also have to pay Rp 250 million (US$17,767) in fines if convicted.

The prosecutors said the case began when PT Mahkota Sentosa Utama, a subsidiary of the Lippo Group’s PT Lippo Cikarang Tbk., planned in 2016 to build the Meikarta township megaproject on 438 hectares of land in Cibatu, South Cikarang, Bekasi. The plan included apartment buildings, a shopping mall, a hospital, a school building, a hotel, a residential compound and a business district.

The township was to be developed in three different stages. The first stage included the construction of 52 buildings and 13 basements on 143 hectares of land.

To carry out the first phase of the project, the developer needed permits on land use, domestic investment, the environment and construction.

According to the indictment, the Lippo conglomerate ordered Billy to handle the permits.

In April 2017, PT Lippo Cikarang land acquisition division head Edi Dwi Soesianto, his subordinate Satriadi and Bekasi spatial and development planning division head E. Yusup Taupik met with the regent at his residence.

The regent later issued a decree on 846,356 square meters of land intended for commercial use in Cibatu village, South Cikarang, on May 12, 2017.

After the permit was signed, Neneng Hasanah Yasin ordered people to ask for Rp 10 billion in “commitment fees” from the company. The money was later paid in six installments between June 2017 and January 2018.

Subsequently, Josep Christopher Mailool, Billy’s nephew, contacted Henry Jasmen P. Sihotang for help with the permits. Henry later involved Fitradjaja Purnama and Taryudi in the process.

On Sept. 23, 2017, Billy allegedly discussed the issue with the three at a hotel in Cikarang.

According to the indictment, Billy and the project executives implicated in the case gave a total of Rp 16 billion and S$270,000 ($199,449) to regent Neneng and the executives gave Rp 1 billion and S$90,000 to Bekasi Investment and Permit Agency head Dewi Tisnawati, Rp 1.2 billion to Bekasi Public Works and Housing Agency head Jamaludin and hundreds of millions of rupiah to several other agency heads.

Billy denied all the accusations.

As already mentioned, Billy had previously been implicated in a broadcast monopoly case related to the KPPU in 2009 that resulted in his conviction on bribery charges.

At the time, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) suspected Billy of bribing a member of the KPPU, Muhammad Iqbal, to influence the ruling of a case pertaining to the broadcasting rights of a sports program.

The corruption court eventually found the businessman guilty in the case and sentenced him to three years behind bars and a fine of Rp 200 million.

The prosecutors demanded lighter sentences for Billy’s project consultants and employees Henry Jasmen P. Sitohan, Fitradjadja Purnama and Taryudi, who had been accused of being his accomplices in giving out the bribes.

Three years were sought for Henry and two years each for Fitradjadja and Taryudi.

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