Dropping of charges against Kim questioned
Dropping of charges against Kim questioned
JAKARTA (JP): Law practitioners questioned the government's decision to drop criminal charges against textile businessman Kim Johannes Mulia, saying that he needs to do more than just repay his debts and pay "administrative" penalties.
"Repaying the state's money does not eliminate one's crimes," Harkristuti Harkrisnowo of the University of Indonesia's School of Law told Antara.
Just like a car thief, she said, the culprit will still have to be brought to court even though he returned the stolen car.
"That's how it is with the law, Kim must also account for his crimes. It would be too easy for him if he is released just like that," she said.
Harkristuti said a strong political will is needed to bring Kim to court. "Otherwise, it will result in a bad image for the country's legal system."
Attorney General Singgih announced last that the government's decision to drop criminal charges against Kim was due to lack of evidence supporting allegations that he defrauded monetary authorities.
In a hearing with legislators, Singgih said that Kim, owner of PT Detta Marina, "has already repaid all his debts, plus interest", which totaled Rp 16 billion (US$7.3 million).
Therefore, Singgih said, the state suffered no financial loss, the Anti-Corruption Law could not be imposed and Kim was only required to pay administrative penalties.
Kim, who has been under investigation for over six months, was accused of falsifying some Rp 15 million worth of export documents and collaborating with government and bank officials to do so.
Harkristuti emphasized that the government must uphold the law. "As a state in which law exists there should be no discrimination and no one can be immune to it," she pointed out.
The government, she said, should not pull out of the case only because they were unable to charge Kim with corruption. "He could be charged for falsifying export documents," she said.
Meanwhile, law practitioner Henry Yosodiningrat was quoted by the Kompas daily as saying that it was "too hasty" to drop the criminal charges against Kim because the public was already aware of his export manipulation.
Yosodiningrat said, although he respected the government's decision to drop the charges of corruption, Kim can still be charged for forgery.
"For law enforcers, it is a chance to prove to the public that nobody is beyond the long hand of the law. For Kim, if he is certain he is not guilty, it is his chance to prove so and he can rehabilitate his reputation," he said.
Law professor Erman Rajagukguk and lawyer Denny Kailimang, however, hailed the government's move saying that it was a step forward.
Erman said that the state prosecutor has every right to drop a case. In this case, he said, the decision was made after the prosecutor heard from monetary authorities that the state suffered no financial losses and for this reason criminal charges could be dropped.
He acknowledged that although Kim violated regulations -- resulting in incorrect export data -- punishment does not necessarily have to be in the form of criminal penalties, but could instead be administrative fines.
Denny pointed out that the objective of punishment should not be "revenge". There are laws which determine whether a violation is simply an offense or whether it is a crime, he said. (pwn/imn)