Gratuity Case Involving NTB DPRD Proceeds, Three Defendants Demand Justice

Mataram (ANTARA) - Three defendants in the gratuity case at the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD), who are currently undergoing trial at the Corruption Crimes Court at the Mataram District Court, are demanding justice from the Attorney General. “We three have agreed to report it. In handling this case, from the investigation stage to the prosecution, there are many odd things and injustices,” said Muhammad Nashib Iqroman, representing the other defendants, after attending the interim decision hearing at the Corruption Court at the Mataram District Court on Thursday. In addition to the Attorney General, the demand will be forwarded to the Indonesian Ombudsman, the Prosecutor’s Commission, and Commission III of the DPR RI. He, along with the two other defendants, namely Hamdan Kasim and Indra Jaya Usman, hopes that the demand will receive a response so that the legal issues arising in this gratuity case gain attention. “Our hope is that the handling of this case truly follows procedures and the principle of justice,” he stated. Nashib Iqroman, who still holds the status of an NTB DPRD member for the 2024-2029 period, along with the two other defendants, considers the aspect of justice to be more paramount in the new Criminal Code (KUHP). However, the prosecutors in this case are deemed not to have implemented that aspect. “In the new KUHP, justice is more important than law enforcement. We are charged as givers, while the recipients who have been mentioned in the indictment by the prosecutor have not been processed at all in the law enforcement process,” he said. “Hopefully, according to the opinion of the panel of judges, they are just waiting in line,” he added. The panel of judges in today’s interim decision reading hearing stated that it rejected the exceptions or objections from the three defendants and requested that the trial proceed to the evidence agenda for the case. In the prosecutor’s indictment, it is revealed that the three defendants gave money totalling Rp2.2 billion to 15 NTB DPRD members for the 2024-2029 period. Regarding that indictment, the public prosecutor charges the three defendants with giving bribes within the period of 2025, which is related to the flagship programme of NTB Governor Lalu Muhamad Iqbal worth Rp76 billion, namely “Desa Berdaya”.