Councillor gets 4 years for graft<\/p>\n
Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
The Yogyakarta High Court has increased the sentence of convicted
\nlocal councillor Herman Abdurrahman, 53, to four years in prison
\nand fined him Rp 200 million (US$23,529) in a bribery case.<\/p>\n
The defendant had been jailed for only two years and fined Rp
\n10 million by the Yogyakarta District Court last year for his key
\nrole in the Rp 150 million (US$17,647) case.<\/p>\n
Herman, who heads the United Development Party (PPP) faction
\non the Yogyakarta legislative council, was found guilty of
\nviolating Article 12 of Law No. 20\/2001 on corruption.<\/p>\n
The appeal court said on Wednesday that it had forwarded its
\ndecision to the district court on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
However, the high court did not order the prosecutors to
\nimmediately execute the verdict as Herman said he would appeal to
\nthe Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
\"I have heard the verdict but I have not yet received a copy
\nof it from the higher court. I believe that the decision is
\npolitically motivated and is designed to unseat me,\" Herman said.<\/p>\n
\"Of course, I will appeal as there is no justice to be had in
\nYogyakarta. The court should have been independent and free from
\npolitical intervention,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Herman questioned why only he had been declared a suspect and
\njailed, while other councillors who also took bribes and had yet
\nto return the money remained free.<\/p>\n
\"I never used the money and I returned it all to the
\nauthorities,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The case revolved around the provincial government's move to
\nseek legislative approval for Rp 9.5 billion in supplemental
\nfunds needed to complete the construction of the Jogja Expo
\nCenter (JEC).<\/p>\n
The bribe was reportedly paid by the project's contractor, PT
\nAdhi Karya, after the local administration complained about a
\nlack of money.<\/p>\n
But the managing director of the company, Duldjiman, was
\nacquitted of all charges by the district court.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors investigating the scandal questioned 24 witnesses,
\nincluding provincial secretary Bambang Susanto Priyohadi and
\nseveral councillors who received bribes.<\/p>\n
Public pressure had been mounting for prosecutors to bring
\nBambang and the councillors to court.<\/p>\n
Bambang had told the court that he had been pressured to pay
\nthe bribes and was afraid the councillors would disrupt the
\nconstruction project, which was inaugurated by President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri in January of last year.<\/p>\n
Herman's conviction only serves to back up the widely held
\nbelief of rampant corruption within the local legislature, as
\nwell as the bureaucracy and judiciary.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the Cirebon Prosecutor's Office in West Java
\ncharged all 30 members of the local legislative council and a
\nformer mayor with corruption for allegedly marking up their
\nallowances.<\/p>\n
Chief prosecutor Suraini Dahlan confirmed that the councillors
\nhad been declared suspects in the case, which dates back to 2001.<\/p>\n
The suspects include then-Cirebon mayor Lasman Suriaatmadja
\nand the current deputy mayor, who was a councillor in 2001.<\/p>\n
Suraini said the councillors had voted themselves allowances
\nin the 2001 budget that were higher than the maximum allowed
\nunder government regulations.<\/p>\n
He said that they had awarded themselves total allowances of
\nRp 997 million compared to the government-set maximum of Rp 400
\nmillion.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/councillor-gets-4-years-for-graft-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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