Government concurs with stiffer sentence for Tansil
Government concurs with stiffer sentence for Tansil
JAKARTA (JP): The government and a politician yesterday
welcomed the Jakarta High Court's decision to raise the jail term
handed to businessman Eddy Tansil, saying that it bodes well for
the anti-corruption drive.
News that Tansil's sentence has been raised from 17 to 20
years was greeted with relief from the Attorney General's office
which prosecuted the case and brought to justice a number of
other suspects involved in the Rp 1.3 trillion ($620 million)
scam at the government-owned Bank Pembangunan Indonesia
(Bapindo).
"The heavier verdict serves as a warning for other
corruptors," Chairul Imam, acting spokesman for the Attorney
General's Office was quoted by the Republika daily as saying.
Soesanto Bangoennagoro, a legislator of the ruling Golkar
faction at the House of Representatives, said the court's ruling
reflects a mature and prudent decision.
"I happily welcome the ruling because it will strengthen the
public image of the legal system and reflects the current drive
to establish a clean government," he said.
The swift decision should also serve as a lesson for others to
think twice before they appeal their case to the high court, he
added.
The Jakarta High Court upheld the guilty verdict against
Tansil passed by the Central Jakarta District Court in August.
He was convicted on corruption charges for skimming Bapindo
funds through illegal means with insiders' help.
The High Court raised the jail term and also reaffirmed the
district court's order that Tansil pay the government Rp 500
billion ($227 million) in restitution. It also reaffirmed the
lower court's decision to appropriate much of Tansil's wealth,
including houses, land, factories, offices, cars and bank
deposits.
Tansil's lawyers yesterday said that they have not decided on
what course to take following the high court verdict.
"We'll have to analyze the high court's legal opinion before
we can make our decision," Humphrey R. Djemat, one of Tansil's
defense counsels, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
Humphrey added that the lawyers have not received the full
copy of the High Court's decision.
He said however that the lawyers would probably appeal to the
Supreme Court.
Soetrisno, the chief of the Central Jakarta District Court who
presided over Tansil's trial, said the high court's legal opinion
was similar, verbatim, to the one declared by the district court.
"The Jakarta High Court entirely copied the district court's
legal opinion," he said.
Three former Bapindo executives have also been sentenced for
their role in the scam and two others are still on trial.
Tansil's 17-year jail term given by the lower court was the
stiffest. (imn)