House legislator in hot water for graft

House legislator in hot water for graft

SERANG, Banten: Prosecutors demanded on Friday that current
House of Representatives member Dharmono Lawi be sentenced to
eight years in prison for alleged corruption involving Rp 14
billion (US$1.7 million).

Dharmono, the former Banten legislative council speaker from
the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has been
charged with misusing the housing funds allocated from the
province's 2003 budget, while he was still the council speaker.

When reading out the indictment, prosecutor Salim Fizri also
requested that Serang District Court imprison former Banten
council deputy speaker Muslim Jamaludin from the Golkar Party for
eight years, and current council deputy speaker Mufrodi Muchsin
from the United Development Party (PPP), for the same charges.

Separately, the Banten prosecutor's office head Kemas Yahya
Rahman said the panel of judges must also order each of the three
defendants to pay Rp 300 million in fines.

Apart from that, Dharmono has been ordered to give back Rp 295
million, a small portion of what prosecutors say was embezzled
from the budget, along with Muslim, who must give back Rp 305
million and Mufrodi Rp 223 million, Yahya added. -- Antara