Court sentences inactive Riau Governor Abdul Wahid to two years in prison
The Panel of Judges at the Corruption Court in Pekanbaru, Riau, has sentenced inactive Riau Governor Abdul Wahid to two years in prison. The verdict was read by presiding judge Delta Tamtama, who is also the Deputy Chief of the Pekanbaru District Court, alongside judges Aziz Muslim and Dr Edy Darma Putra in the Prof R Soebakti courtroom on Thursday. The panel declared the defendant legally and convincingly proven guilty of committing a criminal act of corruption.
“Sentencing the defendant Abdul Wahid to two years’ imprisonment and a criminal fine of Rp200 million, with the provision that if the fine is not paid, it shall be replaced by 80 days of confinement,” the judge stated. The ruling also stipulated that if the convict lacks sufficient assets to pay the compensation, it shall be substituted with one year and six months’ imprisonment.
Abdul Wahid was found guilty under the third alternative charge, violating Article 12 b in conjunction with Article 18 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, as amended by Law Number 20 of 2001, in conjunction with Article 20 letter c of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code. The judges ordered that the time the defendant has already spent in detention be deducted from the sentence, and that he remain in custody while also paying court costs of Rp10,000.
The sentence was far lighter than the 8.5-year prison term demanded by prosecutors from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Abdul Wahid was accused of corruption and extorting money from the heads of the Road and Bridge Technical Implementation Units within the Riau Province Public Works, Spatial Planning, Housing, Settlement Areas, and Land Agency. He was found to have coerced these officials into providing money and payments for his personal needs, totalling Rp2.45 billion. Also named as suspects in the case are the Head of the Riau PUPRPKPP Agency, Arif Setiawan, and a special advisor to the Riau Governor, Dani Nursalam.