Court jails controversial businessman for 8 years

Court jails controversial businessman for 8 years

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A West Java district court sentenced a controversial businessmen
to eight-years' jail on Thursday for violating banking laws and
embezzlement, Antara reported.

Sukabumi District Court Judge Jasinta Daniel also ordered
Ramly Araby to pay a Rp 10 billion (US$11 million) fine and
return company assets to investors.

The director of PT Qurnia Subur Alam Raya (QSAR) was found
guilty of violating banking laws by collecting public funds and
the Criminal Code by embezzling the money.

During the trial, the court heard testimony from six company
directors who were declared suspects in the case, namely Endjang
Muhamad, Meliana, Mohamad Kamal, Warman Pasawahan, Hendra
Supriatna, Yandi Sofiandi and Ramlan Baskara -- Ramly's younger
brother.

During the trial, hundreds of QSAR investors attended the
trial, vastly outnumbering the few security officers who guarded
the court building.

A farming company, PT QSAR had, since 1997, developed its
farming areas in several villages in Sukabumi, including
Kadudampit, Kebonpedes, Gunung Jaya and Sukamanis.

Based in Kadudampit village in Sukabumi, the company collapsed
last year shattering the dreams of its 6,480 investors who had
paid the company Rp 413 billion.

At the height of the investors' fury, several top ranking
politicians, including Vice President Hamzah Haz, Speaker of the
People's Consultative Assembly Amien Rais and Deputy Speaker of
the House of Representative's Tosari Widjaja, stood up to defend
the company.

Hamzah went as far as putting forward the idea of taking over
the bankrupt company because it was "a legitimate business that
needed the government's help because it has succeeded in sending
155 export items worth hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars."

Speculation has been rife that the political elites may have
had stakes in the collapsed company.