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)