Candidate on trial for diploma forgery

MALUKU, Ambon: West Seram Regent politician Soebeno went on trial on Monday here for allegedly forging a senior high school diploma earlier this year to allow him to stand in the election for the office of regent.

Soebeno, with his running mate Nathaniel Elake, is one of the two candidates running for the top job in the West Seram regental election to be held later this year.

However, his candidacy has now been put on hold due to the forged diploma issue. The diploma states that Soebeno graduated from a vocational high school in Purwokerto, Central Java, in 1970, while in reality the school was only set up in 1971. The defendant has been charged with diploma forgery, and faces a maximum sentence of six years in jail if convicted. -- JP