Aceh official sent to jail for corruption

Nani Afrida and Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh/Kupang

A district court in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam sentenced former Banda Aceh mayor Zulkarnain on Tuesday to five years imprisonment for corruption, while an acting deputy legislative council speaker in East Nusa Tenggara was detained in a fraud case.

Zulkarnain became the first government official convicted of graft in the troubled province of Aceh.

Prosecutors sought 10 years for the former mayor.

Judges said Zulkarnain was proven "guilty beyond all reasonable doubt" of embezzling Rp 3.5 billion (US$388,888) when he served as mayor in 2002.

The Banda Aceh District Court also ordered the defendant to returned the corrupted money, which should have been distributed to improve the economic condition of the people, and fined him Rp 200 million.

"If the defendant cannot pay the fine or return the corrupted money, he will have to serve an additional term of one year and four months," presiding judge Syafaruddin Nasution said.

However, the court ordered the return of Zulkarnain's assets that had been confiscated by prosecutors.

The judges argued that the assets belonged to the convict's wife and that the prosecutors failed to prove they were bought using the ill-gotten money.

Syafaruddin said the verdict was handed down after the court heard testimonies of 13 witnesses and examined sufficient evidence against Zulkarnain.

The judges said the former mayor was found guilty of breaching Article 55 (1) of the Criminal Code and Law No. 31/1999 on corruption eradication.

"What makes his sentence heavier is that the defendant has disadvantaged the state and let down people he should have assisted," Syafaruddin said.

Zulkarnain's lawyers said their client was considering whether to appeal or not, while the prosecutors said they would appeal.

"The court decision was abnormal and we will file an appeal this week," prosecutor Muhammad Adnan told The Jakarta Post.

The light sentence for the former mayor, which had been postponed for two days due to technical problems, sparked accusations that the judges received a bribe from the defendant.

Zulkarnain has been detained since Jan. 15, 2004. He once evaded the graft charges and later surrendered himself to the prosecutors.

The court has sentenced another suspect in the same case, T Surya, to two years in prison, while his accomplice, Tarmizi R., was acquitted of all charges.

Meanwhile, police officially detained senior Kupang Legislative Council member Dominggus Bolla on Tuesday for the alleged theft of Rp 95 million from the city administration.

However, he was only charged with forging the signature of former council speaker Mell Yakob in order to disburse the money. He could face a six-year prison term if proven guilty.

Bolla, a retired military officer, served as deputy speaker of the Kupang council for the 1999-2004 period at the time of the alleged crime. He was reelected as a local councillor through the April 5 legislative election, representing the Golkar Party.

Kupang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Nugroho said Bolla was held to facilitate the investigation. "The suspect has confessed to all his wrongdoings, so we detained him."

The case surfaced after Mell Yakob, who died earlier this month, questioned an amount of Rp 95 million that had been disbursed by the Kupan administration for his medical treatment, when in fact he never received the money.

"Pak Yakob was sick for almost one year. As the city council speaker, his medical care was financed by the council. But the money was taken by his deputy Bolla by forging his (Yacob's) signature (to disburse the money)," said Adi Yakob, a family member of the former council speaker.