Aceh court to hear another collective corruption case
Aceh court to hear another collective corruption case
Syofiardi Bachyul JB, Padang
Investigators handed over on Tuesday to the Banda Aceh
Prosecutor's Office the case files of seven suspects allegedly
involved in a Rp 5.7 billion (US$600,000) scam at the local
council.
Besides the dossiers, the investigators from Nanggroe Aceh
Darussalam Prosecutor's Office also submitted material evidence
consisting of five cars and Rp 125 million ($13,158) in cash.
The suspects are seven of the 26 Banda Aceh councillors who
were allegedly involved in a corruption case involving the
procurement of automobiles by the municipal council two years
ago.
Two other councillors had rejected the scam, while the
remaining two had passed away, Antara reported on Tuesday.
Nilawati, a Banda Aceh prosecutor, said the office had set up
a team of four councillors to examine and present the dossiers to
the Banda Aceh District Court.
The case follows several other similar cases involving
regional councils, including the West Sumatra Council, the
Payakumbuh Council in West Sumatra, the Cirebon and Garut
Councils in West Java and the latest involving the Bandarlampung
Council in Lampung.
Separately, the West Sumatra Prosecutor's Office awarded the
West Sumatra Care Forum (FPSB) on Tuesday for its efforts in the
investigation and prosecution of another recent high-profile
graft case involving councillors.
"The award is a token of appreciation for the forum's
assistance in combating corruption in the province," said the
office's head, Muchtar Arifin, during the award ceremony.
It was not the first award to be conferred to an NGO for their
anticorruption efforts: At the end of May, the Masyarakat
Profesional Madani bestowed its Anticorruption Fighter Award 2004
to justice Bustami Nusyirwan for his courage in sentencing West
Sumatra councillors for graft.
The FPSB was established three years ago by lecturers,
students and activists from several NGOs, such as the Padang
Legal Aid Institute and the local chapter of the Indonesian Forum
for the Environment, or Walhi.
Shortly after its establishment, the forum strongly opposed
the exorbitant budget allotted to West Sumatra councillors, but
the protest fell on deaf ears.
The forum, over the course of an independent investigation,
discovered that the councillors had committed graft collectively,
misusing the council budget for personal gain, and reported the
irregularities to the West Sumatra Prosecutor's Office. They also
offered to testify before the court.
The case was taken to be heard by the Padang District Court,
which sentenced 43 of the 55 West Sumatra councillors to a
maximum 27 months in prison for embezzling Rp 6.4 billion
($711,111) of the council's 2002 budget.
The verdict was the first to be handed down for a collective
graft scam involving legislative members.
However, the convicted councillors remain free pending a
decision on their appeal.