Ex-speaker sentenced for graft

Ex-speaker sentenced for graft

Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang

Former Central Java council speaker Mardijo has been sentenced by
Semarang District Court to one year in prison and two years'
probation for his involvement in the embezzlement of Rp 14.8
billion (US$1.48 million) from the 2003 provincial budget.

The panel of judges presided over by Abid Saleh Mendrova also
fined on Thursday Mardijo, who was the council speaker for the
1999-2004 term, Rp 500 million (US$50,000).

In separate courtrooms, three members of the council's
budgetary committee -- Asrofie, Suyatno and Wahono Ilyas --
were each sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment and 20 months'
probation in the same case. The judge also ordered that Wahono
return to the state the Rp 27 million he embezzled.

Mardijo's sentence was lighter than the seven years demanded
by prosecutors in the case, in which 14 councillors have been
implicated. Ten more will soon face trial.

The sentences brought relief to the families of the budgetary
committee's three members, but Mardijo made no comment on the
decision.

Based on an investigation by the Supreme Audit Agency, the
former council speaker was found to have embezzled Rp 643
million. But Mardijo returned the money in stages after the case
surfaced.

However, the judges did not consider the return of the money
reason to exonerate Mardijo and fined him a further Rp 500
million.

"We can't accept the fine," said Mardijo's lawyer Agus
Suhartoyo. He said no decision had been made as to whether they
would appeal the sentence.

Mardijo, who was dismissed as chairman of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) central board in Central
Java by party leader Megawati Soekarnoputri after he decided to
run for Central Java governor in 2003, declined to comment as he
made his way from the courthouse to his waiting car.

The sentence was lighter than the 15 years handed down in
November by the Blitar District Court in East Java to suspended
Blitar regent Imam Muhadi for embezzling Rp 97 billion from the
regental budget.

Suspended Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh was sentenced to 10
years' imprisonment by the Supreme Court in September, and in
late October, suspended Temangung regent Totok Ary Prabowo was
sentenced to four years' jail by Temanggung District Court in
Central Java for embezzling last year election funds of Rp 12.6
billion.