Immanuel Ebenezer's Death Penalty Request Cannot Be Granted

The request for Immanuel Ebenezer Gerungan, former Deputy Labour Minister, to be sentenced to death over corruption allegations cannot be legally fulfilled. This is because he does not meet the criteria for the death penalty as stipulated in Law No. 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Corruption Crimes. Nicknamed Noel, he can only face a maximum 20-year prison sentence under the Corruption Eradication Law, while the death penalty is only applicable in specific circumstances.

Under the Corruption Eradication Law, these specific circumstances refer to when the country is in a state of danger as per applicable regulations, repeated criminal offences, or during an economic and monetary crisis.

Noel is alleged to have committed corruption in the form of gratification and extortion in the management of occupational safety and health (K3) certification at the Ministry of Manpower from 2019 to 2025.

Coordinator of the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Community (MAKI), Boyamin Saiman, stated that, based on the Corruption Eradication Law, the request for Noel cannot be fulfilled.

‘If it’s Noel, the maximum is 20 years. For officials who receive bribes or others. Even life imprisonment isn’t applicable. Because the process isn’t under Corruption Article 2. He’s charged under bribery and extortion articles, which carry a maximum 20-year sentence,’ he said when contacted on Tuesday (26/5).

Nevertheless, Boyamin praised Noel’s request, as he is seen to acknowledge that corrupt officials should indeed receive harsh or maximum penalties.

From Noel’s case, Boyamin added, bureaucrats and officials should be moved to avoid corruption altogether. ‘Hopefully, this teaches bureaucrats not to commit corruption at all, not just to be cautious about getting caught. The issue is that in our bureaucracy, officials are careful about corrupting to avoid detection,’ he said.

‘We appreciate this and hope the judge upholds this sense of justice, reinforcing that corruption must not be tolerated,’ Boyamin concluded. (E-3)