Court rejects graft appeal

INDONESIA: A West Sumatra court not only rejected on Friday the appeal filed by 43 West Sumatra councillors convicted of graft, but increased their jail sentences.

The court increased the jail sentence of three council leaders from two years and three months to five years. It sentenced the other 40 council members to four years in jail each, twice as long as the two years given them by the Padang District Court.

The councillors were convicted of embezzling some Rp 5.9 billion (US$655,555) from the 2002 West Sumatra provincial budget. -- JP