Ex-deputy governor prosecuted for graft
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung
Amid the war against corruption in the province, two former West Java senior officials are being prosecuted on corruption charges.
On Tuesday, prosectuors called for Ukman Sutaryan, former West Java deputy governor, to face ten years in prison and a fine of Rp 30 million over a Rp 17.9 billion corruption case during his tenure between 1993-1999. Prosecutors also want him to return Rp 28 billion he allegedly acquired illegally to the state.
Meanwhile, prosecutors asked for Ragam Santika, former secretary of the provincial administration, to be sentenced to eight years imprisonment and a fine of Rp 25 billion over a Rp 17 billion corruption case between 1994 and 1998, at the Bandung district court on Feb. 13, 2002.
In court on Tuesday, Basyuni Musyarif of the West Java Chief Prosecutor's Office said defendant Ukman had to be handed a stiff sentence because he was found to have abused his power by embezzling almost Rp 28 billion from the province's budget between 1993 and 1999.
"The funds were taken from the province's routine spending (Rp 17.6 billion) and development projects (Rp 10.3 billion). The funds were used to build the Al-Ihsan General Hospital, run the Al-Ihsan financial institution and a calligraphy workshop, all in the city, purchase a plot of land in Lembang and buy a Toyota car," he told the court.
He said the funds were disbursed to the Al-Ihsan Foundation, which belonged to him, in contravention of official regulations.
According to the prosecutor, the defendant colluded with Ragam to commit the embezzlement.
Government prosecutor Fadil Jumhana, in Ragam's trial, said that prosecutors had material evidence that the defendant embezzled Rp 17 billion from the province's budgetary funds.
He said the defendant had also helped Ukman to take Rp 16 billion from the province's budgetary funds and another Rp 1 billion from the provincial administration's Saung Kadeudeuh Foundation (YSK) to build the Al-Ihsan General Hospital.
The two defendants conceded that the funds' disbursement occurred with the approval of the governor, R. Nuariana.
The corruption cases were investigated by the local attorney's office after mounting pressure from the provincial legislative council, students, workers and local nongovernmental organizations.
The local attorney's office has been under fire since it decided to hold Governor Nuriana as a witness and not as a suspect. Legislators have demanded that the governor be held responsible for the embezzlement because he gave his approval to the funds' disbursement.
In the context of the war against corruption in the province over the last two years, the chief prosecutor's office has seen two of its heads, Harprileny and Sudono Iswahyudi, replaced.
The West Java Chief Prosecutor's Office is still investigating Governor Nuariana over a 15 billion mark-up in the development of legislators' housing in Cipageran, Cimahi, and Misbach, former chief of general affairs at the provincial administration over a Rp 35 billion mark-up in a road repair project in the province.