Puteh ruling hailed as 'good start'<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Legal experts hailed on Tuesday the conviction of Aceh governor
\nAbdullah Puteh, saying it should serve as evidence of the
\ngovernment's zero tolerance against corrupt officials.<\/p>\n
It could also be a \"good start\" to giving momentum to the
\nnational antigraft campaign, particularly against high-profile
\ncriminals from state agencies, they added.<\/p>\n
\"The case of Puteh is considered small in terms of total money
\nembezzled, relative to other corruption cases, where the
\nperpetrators remain free. But it would have been absurd if Puteh
\nwas acquitted,\" legal expert Frans Hendra Winarta told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the Anticorruption Court jailed Puteh for 10 years
\nfor the illegal markup in the purchase of a Russian-made
\nhelicopter in 2001. The case caused the state to lose Rp 3.7
\nbillion (approximately US$400).<\/p>\n
The verdict was handed down by the panel of five judges,
\nalthough two of them -- both career judges -- gave a dissenting
\nopinion against the court decision.<\/p>\n
Frans said he hoped other law enforcement agencies and the
\npublic, at large, would also show their support for such a
\nconviction by reporting all the other, bigger cases of
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
He praised the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which
\nprosecuted Puteh, for proving itself to be capable of preventing
\nintervention from other authorities that may have tried to
\ninfluence the judges or prosecutors into releasing the governor.<\/p>\n
Another legal expert, Luhut Pangaribuan, said the conviction
\nof Puteh indicated sincerity on the part of the KPK to fight
\ncorruption in Indonesia, that is, unless he were acquitted on
\nappeal.<\/p>\n
Many fear that Puteh could be freed by the appeal courts due
\nto the principle of retroactivity as his lawyers have repeatedly
\nargued that the Anticorruption Court should not be allowed to try
\na case in which the crime took place before the court's
\nestablishment in late 2002.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the dissenting opinions offered by two of the
\nfive judges, Luhut said the most important thing was the
\nsubstance of their arguments.<\/p>\n
\"If they referred only to the retroactivity principle, that's
\nnot important. The substance is more significant,\" he said
\nwithout elaborating.<\/p>\n
However, Rudy Satrio of the University of Indonesia said the
\npeople should still not expect too much in terms law enforcement
\nin Indonesia, despite the Puteh conviction.<\/p>\n
\"This is still far from satisfactory, because there will be a
\njudicial review process against this conviction,\" Rudy told the
\nPost.<\/p>\n
He said the fact that many law enforcers themselves lacked an
\nunderstanding about what constituted an abuse of power could
\nprompt many officials to pervert justice. (004)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/puteh-ruling-hailed-as-good-start-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}