Akbar Tandjung's trial

Akbar Tandjung's trial

From Kompas

The recent trial of House Speaker Akbar Tandjung was obviously
a farce. The punishment demanded by the prosecutor, as the public
had earlier predicted, was very lenient. Was the sentence
disappointing? The public no longer has such a feeling.

In fact, the substance of the case indicates that what Akbar
Tandjung and his cronies committed was outrageous. In the lay
public's view, corruption is perceived as something like this: A
project worth Rp 1 million is marked up to become Rp 2 million,
and the amount in excess is divided between the persons in the
mark-up while the project goes on.

In the case of Akbar Tandjung and his associates, the project
was worth Rp 40 billion and they created no project of a smaller
value as a camouflage. They just embezzled the sum that was
actually meant for the purchase of basic necessities for
distribution to poor people in several regions. As the fund was
misappropriated, it means that they violated the rights of other
people. The money has now been returned so that the state incurs
no loss.

However, didn't the prosecution consider the harm caused to
the ordinary people, because the money should have been used to
meet their urgent needs? Or was the loss suffered by these people
just discounted?

TAN BENG HOK
Sukabumi, West Java