Court finds Mulyana guilty

Court finds Mulyana guilty

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

General Elections Commission (KPU) member Mulyana W. Kusumah and
acting secretary general of the commission Sussongko Suhardjo
were declared guilty by a court on Monday of attempting to bribe
a state auditor in a high profile case linked to alleged
corruption during last year's general elections.

The anticorruption court sentenced Mulyana to 31 months in
jail, while Sussongko was given a 30-month sentence.

Mulyana, who is also a noted criminologist and a pro-democracy
activist, was caught red-handed in April by the Corruption
Eradication Commission (KPK) as he attempted to bribe a Supreme
Audit Agency (BPK) auditor at a Jakarta hotel. The auditor, who
was cooperating with the KPK, was wired with a recorder during
the meeting.

The bribe was meant to influence the audit results and ensure
that the KPU was declared graft-free in organizing the 2004
general elections, which saw President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
rise to power in the country's first direct presidential
election.

The crime, according to the panel of five judges, took place
as "Mulyana and some KPU members and officials were concerned
that the investigative audit by a team from the BPK might uncover
the KKN (corruption practices) in the procurement of ballot
boxes."

The judges referred to the Indonesian acronym meaning
corruption, collusion and nepotism.

Mulyana was responsible for the ballot box procurement.

"As a KPU member and criminologist, the defendant knows that
what he did was against the law, but he continued to do it,"
presiding Judge Masrudin Chaniago said.

"The crime has tarnished the image of KPU as a respected
institution," Masrudin said.

Wearing a black suit, Mulyana looked relaxed, smiling at
photographers and cameramen.

The same panel of judges declared Sussongko guilty in a
separate session later in the day.

Sussongko has admitted the crime, saying that it was KPU chief
Nazaruddin Syamsuddin who had ordered a bribe payment for the
state auditor in order to influence the audit results.

The court said that the time Mulyana and Sussongko had already
spent in detention would be deducted from their sentences and
they must each pay a fine of Rp 50 million (US$4,878).

Prosecutors, who recommended a three-year jail sentences for
both Mulyana and Sussongko, said they would appeal the verdict.
Mulyana and Sussongko have yet to decide whether to appeal. They
have seven days to decide whether to appeal or accept their
respective verdicts.

The bribery case had opened the way for the KPK to launch a
series of investigations into alleged corruption of state funds
at the KPU during the implementation of the general elections.

Graft charges against Nazaruddin and other top KPU officials
and members are currently being heard in a separate trial.

The corruption charges centered on the mark-up of election
expenses including the procurement of election materials and
services. KPU officials had also been accused of collecting
millions of dollars in kick-backs from companies that won
procurement contracts from the KPU.

Nazaruddin is facing a possible jail sentence of 20 years.

The KPK are continuing to question other KPU members and
officials to resolve the high profile corruption case.

BPK chairman Anwar Nasution has said his team found 33
indications of irregularities in the provision of equipment and
services to support the legislative and presidential elections in
2004.