Company president sentenced to 4 years

Company president sentenced to 4 years

JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta District Court sentenced Salim Said, 45, president of PT Eden Mutiara Pasifik, to four years imprisonment yesterday for embezzling Rp 8.3 billion (US$3.77 million) in state money.

In addition to the prison sentence, the council of judges led by LL Hutagalung also required the offender to pay a fine of Rp 10 million (or two more months in jail) and a compensation of Rp 430 million.

The presiding judge said in his verdict that the defendant had misused tax restitution facilities for the sake of his company's interest. Other tax officials who were allegedly involved in the embezzlement were not mentioned.

Prosecutor R. Moekiat previously demanded that the defendant be sentenced to eight years in jail, fined Rp 30 million and required to pay compensation of Rp 8 billion.

The judge said that the defendant, through his company on Jl. Mesjid I in Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta, processed 1,043 fake tax invoices with a value-added-tax of about Rp 8.3 billion for the purchase of textiles worth Rp 83 billion.

The fake invoices were later submitted to the Tax Service Office on Jl. Penjernihan, Central Jakarta, to recover the restitution money as if the defendant had paid the tax on the purchase of the textile products. All transactions took place between July and November 1992. (hhr)