Ex-village head jailed for scam

TANGERANG (JP): The Tangerang District Court has sentenced a former head of Cibogo village in Serpong to four years in jail and fined him Rp 30 million for illegally selling a 46,000-square-meter plot of land belonging to the village.

The court also ordered the defendant, Mudin Marjuki, 57, to pay compensation amounting to Rp 504 million after pronouncing him guilty of violating Article 1 of Law No. 3/1971 on corruption.

"The defendant was found guilty of using his authority to sell the land," presiding judge Subardi said on Thursday.

He said the court also decided to confiscate two houses built on a 2,000-square-meter plot of land belonging to the defendant in Cibelut village.

Mudin was village head from 1985 to 1995.

Mudin's lawyer Husen Tuhutera was apparently unsatisfied with the judge's decision, saying his client would appeal.

He expressed concern over the reluctance of the judge to consider witnesses' testimonies.

"The judge only considered the prosecutor's indictment," Husen alleged.

Dozens of Cibogo residents packed the courtroom on Thursday.

Kasim, one resident, said he hailed the verdict.

He questioned why the defendant was not detained immediately after the verdict was read.

"We don't know about law. It seems Mudin is not guilty since he has not been detained," he said.

The scam was revealed after residents repeatedly staged demonstrations at the Tangerang regency office and the Tangerang Prosecutor's Office last year. (41/jun)