Corrupt legal system selective with corruptors<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In the last few days, seemingly good news in the drive against
\ncorruption came to the fore.<\/p>\n
There was the detention of graft suspect and House of
\nRepresentatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung, the conviction of Bank
\nIndonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin in a graft case and the
\ndetention of graft suspect and businessman Hashim
\nDjojohadikusumo.<\/p>\n
However, questions abound: Why did it take so long to detain
\nAkbar? Why does Sjahril remain free after the Central Jakarta
\nDistrict Court declared him guilty and sentenced him to three
\nyears in prison? Why only Sjahril, when he was merely a bit
\nplayer in the Bank Bali scandal? And why Hashim when there are so
\nmany other \"dirty\" tycoons living free without legal
\ninterference?<\/p>\n
According to lawyers Nursyahbani Katjasungkana and Trimedya
\nPanjaitan, a corrupt legal system allowed it to happen.<\/p>\n
At play are judges and prosecutors, who have all the
\ndiscretion and rights to detain suspects or send the convicted to
\njail.<\/p>\n
Nursyahbani gave a classic example of the corrupt legal system
\nat work with the system's failure to immediately send former
\npresident Soeharto's youngest son, Hutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra,
\nto jail after the Supreme Court sentenced him to 18 months in
\nprison term in connection to a land swap deal in 2000.<\/p>\n
\"So much time was wasted in putting the man in jail after
\nsentencing until he finally ran off and was lost for a year,\"
\nNursyahbani said on Friday.<\/p>\n
In the case of Sjahril, the judges, instead of sending him to
\nprison following conviction, stipulated that the court could not
\nsend him directly to jail because he was free when the verdict
\nwas read.<\/p>\n
Both Nursyahbani and Trimedya believe that the judges in
\nSjahril's case made a genuine mistake.<\/p>\n
They have ruled out the involvement of money in such a
\ndecision, but noted that such a mistake could have an adverse
\nimpact on the public.<\/p>\n
\"Due to this mistake, the central bank is now governed by a
\nconvict,\" Trimedya said.<\/p>\n
\"The court's judges should have stated that this man,
\nsentenced to a three-year jail term, should be sent to jail
\ndirectly.\"<\/p>\n
Sjahril was sentenced to three years in jail for his role in
\nthe Rp 904 billion (US$90.4 million) Bank Bali scandal.<\/p>\n
What about Akbar's belated detention? Trimedya believed that
\npolitical bargaining was behind it.<\/p>\n
\"State prosecutors are rendered unable to detain suspects
\neither due to the intervention of political interests or failure
\nof further negotiations, as in the Akbar Tandjung case,\" Trimedya
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Prosecutors had evidence against Akbar in the Bulog case long
\nbefore, but they were just waiting for permission to detain him.
\nOnce they received permission -- I won't say who gave the
\npermission -- Akbar was detained,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors finally detained Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung on
\nMarch 7 as a suspect in a Rp 40 billion graft scandal involving
\nthe State Logistics Agency (Bulog).<\/p>\n
His case will be heard at the Central Jakarta District Court
\nin the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
As for Hashim, Trimedya suspects that money is at play.<\/p>\n
\"Just see the Hashim Djohohadikusumo case. Everybody knows how
\nrich he is. Initially, prosecutors spent no time bothering to
\ndetain him. But all of a sudden, they detained him,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Hashim, former chief commissioner of the now defunct Bank
\nIndustri, has been detained as a suspect in the violation of the
\nlegal bank lending limit.<\/p>\n
He began his 20 days in detention on Wednesday at Salemba
\nPenitentiary, pending trial.<\/p>\n
While the government has been successful in detaining Hashim,
\nit apparently failed to nab Hendra Rahardja, a suspect in the
\nmultimillion dollar Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) to
\nhis bank, Bank Harapan Santosa (BHS), and Sjamsul Nursalim, a
\nsuspect in another BLBI case as well as other tycoons suspected
\nof plundering state assets.<\/p>\n
Hendra is reportedly in Australia, while his case is being
\nheard at the Central Jakarta District Court. Sjamsul is also
\noverseas, reportedly in Singapore for \"medical treatment\".<\/p>\n
Trimedya suggested that the government prioritize corruption
\ncases involving prominent tycoons if it wants to win the hearts
\nof the people.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/corrupt-legal-system-selective-with-corruptors-1447893297",
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