Immanuel Ebenezer Regrets Five-Year Sentence: Might as Well Have Embezzled More
Immanuel ‘Noel’ Ebenezer Gerungan, the former Deputy Minister of Manpower (Wamenaker) for the period 2024–2025, spoke out after attending the indictment hearing at the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court on Monday, 19 May 2026. Noel said he regrets not having engaged in corruption on a larger scale after learning he faces a five-year prison sentence.
The remark represents Noel’s protest against what he describes as an injustice in legal logic. He believes the sentence handed down to him is almost the same as defendants who are enjoying government funds in far larger amounts.
Noel is puzzled that a five-year prison term for him is considered disproportionate when compared with other defendants in the case of alleged extortion in the processing of the Safety and Health at Work (K3) certification.
“If that’s the case, then is there any regret? I do regret it. It would have been better to embezzle as much as possible, just with a year’s difference from the others,” Noel said with disappointment when approached after the hearing.
He gave an explicit comparison regarding the perceived imbalance in the charges:
“This is crazy. I don’t understand the logic of the law; I can’t grasp how they’re thinking about it,” he insisted.
Despite sharply criticising the charges brought by the Prosecutor (JPU), Noel said he would continue to respect the legal process. However, he emphasised that any prison sentence, regardless of its length, remains heavy. He described how three days in detention already feels like hell.
Therefore, the former Wamenaker plans to draft a defence brief, intending to include points about his performance while in office, particularly policies that directly affected the broad public.
“The plea will describe my policies that people have felt directly, especially those related to the practice of withholding diplomas, which is still ongoing,” he added.
The following is a comparison of the indictment data between Noel Ebenezer and several other defendants in the same case, which prompted the former Wamenaker’s objection:
Beyond the five-year prison term, the Prosecutor also seeks a fine of Rp250 million with a 90-day prison substitute, and restitution amounting to Rp4.43 billion with a two-year substitute term. Noel is charged with alleged extortion and gratification during his tenure as Wamenaker, including the receipt of a Ducati Scrambler motorcycle. (Ant/Z-1)
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