Executive gets six years in jail for embezzlement<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta District Court on Monday
\nsentenced the former chief executive of a now closed industrial
\ngas company to six years in jail for embezzling Rp 3 billion
\n(US$340,900) from a loan given to the company.<\/p>\n
Soebiyanto Arifin, former president and owner of PT Pan Gas
\nNusantara Industri in Pulogadung, East Jakarta, was found guilty
\nof misusing funds which were part of a Rp 28 billion loan package
\nsecured in 1990 from state Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) intended
\nto be spent on expanding the business.<\/p>\n
Besides the prison sentence, Judge Dalil Ahmad also fined the
\nbusinessman Rp 4 million and ordered him to repay the Rp 3
\nbillion to the bank.<\/p>\n
\"The defendant caused losses to the state amounting to Rp 3
\nbillion. He used this money for his own interests,\" Dalil told
\nthe court.<\/p>\n
The punishment was only half the 12 year prison term demanded
\nby the prosecutors.<\/p>\n
The defendant has not yet been detained. According to the
\njudge, Soebiyanto would be given one week to accept the verdict
\nand would be jailed \"shortly\".<\/p>\n
The judge's decision was questioned by dozens of Soebiyanto's
\nformer workers, who reported the defendant's malfeasance to the
\nAttorney General's Office last year.<\/p>\n
\"How come the defendant has not been detained even though he
\nhas already been found guilty,\" chairman of the company's
\nemployee union Nicolas S. Lamardan said.<\/p>\n
About one-quarter of the gas company's total work force of
\nabout 200 people packed the courtroom on Monday.<\/p>\n
Secretary-general of the All Indonesian Worker Union for
\nReform (FSPSI-Reformasi), Mohammad Rodja, who also attended the
\ntrial, expressed concerns that the judge's decision not to
\nimmediately detain Soebiyanto would enrage the workers.<\/p>\n
\"It would be safer for the defendant in jail. Otherwise, the
\nworkers will hunt him,\" Rodja said.<\/p>\n
Judge Dalil argued that he did not order the defendant to go
\ndirectly to jail because Soebiyanto had not been detained by the
\nprosecutors since the beginning of the trial.<\/p>\n
According to Muhammad Yuntri, a lawyer for the workers, the
\ncorruption was revealed by the workers when Soebiyanto suddenly
\nclosed the factory last year and dismissed all employees -- most
\nof whom had worked there for more than 20 years -- without any
\nseverance payment.<\/p>\n
\"Actually, we reported six suspects, including the defendant's
\nbrother and a bank official. We don't know why only Soebiyanto
\nwas tried,\" Yuntri said.<\/p>\n
He said his clients have also filed a suit against Soebiyanto
\nat the East Jakarta District Court asking for Rp 21 billion
\ncompensation for neglecting the workers.<\/p>\n
According to Yuntri, Soebiyanto sold some of the company's
\nshares to a French company, Pan Air Liquid, in 1992.<\/p>\n
He said that, along with his partner, Soebiyanto used the Rp
\n25 billion (from the total Rp 28 billion loan he actually
\nreceived) to set up another gas company in Cilegon, West Java.<\/p>\n
When Soebiyanto defaulted on the loan, BRI seized his
\nPulogadung factory, which produced industrial gas, such as argon
\nand nitrogen, Yuntri explained.<\/p>\n
The bank then auctioned the factory for Rp 10 billion to
\nanother company, which also belonged to the defendant, he said.<\/p>\n
\"It's a scam. The bank officials should also be held
\naccountable in the corruption case,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Soebiyanto's lawyer, who requested anonymity, denied Yuntri's
\naccusations, saying his client no longer owned the factory in
\nPulogadung.<\/p>\n
\"He's just an employee at a gas company at Cilegon,\" he said.
\n(jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/executive-gets-six-years-in-jail-for-embezzlement-1447893297",
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