Bangka Belitung Deputy Governor Sentenced to Four Months in Prison and Remanded in Connection with Fraud Case

The Deputy Governor of Bangka Belitung (Babel), Hellyana, was sentenced to four months in prison and remanded by the Panel of Judges of the Pangkalpinang District Court after being found guilty of hotel bill fraud. In the Pangkalpinang City District Court session on Monday, 18 May, the presiding judge Marolop Winner Pasrolan Bakara stated the defendant Hellyana had been proven legally guilty of the fraud offence. ‘The defendant (Hellyana) is proven legally to have committed fraud as charged. She is sentenced to four months in prison and the defendant is ordered to be remanded,’ the judge said. The sentence is lighter than the prosecutors’ demand. Previously, Hellyana was charged with eight months’ imprisonment under Article 378 of the Criminal Code, read together with Article 64(1) of the Criminal Code. Hellyana’s legal counsel, Dhimas Putra Ramadhani, said they would appeal. ‘We have discussed with Madam Hellyana. So we plan to appeal. In our view, some aspects of our plea were not accepted by the judge,’ he explained. In court records, he also criticised Article 492 in the newly revised Penal Code (Law Number 1 of 2023) which addresses fraud. ‘In our view, under Article 492 there must be a witness or chat evidence to prove incitement to incur debt. The indictment included chat evidence, but in the court’s factual findings there was no reason for it to be admitted,’ he added. ‘Where does that link come from? That’s the issue. Our view was not accepted by the judge, thus we will appeal,’ he continued. Babel Deputy Governor Hellyana was named a suspect by the Babel Ditreskrimum (Directorate of General Criminal Investigation) on Thursday, 25 September, in connection with alleged fraud in hotel room bookings during her term as a member of Babel’s DPRD (2023–2024). The case was reported by a former manager of a Pangkalpinang hotel, initials AL, on Thursday, 17 July.