Judge Seeks Separate Probe into THR Payments to Police Commissioners by Marcella Santoso

Jakarta – A panel of judges has said that prosecutors must prove, in a new indictment, the alleged provision of a THR holiday allowance to a number of police officials by advocate and defendant Marcella Santoso, as this matter was not part of the charges in the current case. Witness Indah Kusumawati testified that she was ordered by Marcella Santoso to prepare THR money for Kombes named Syamsul, Rifki, Irfan, Dedi, Dapot, Pak Imam, Mukhtar, and Arif, with instructions for Titin to prepare and deliver the funds. The exact THR amounts were not specified in court, but the sums were described as substantial. The panel concluded that THR payments to police personnel were outside the scope of the bribery case against the judges and the Money Laundering (TPPU) case. Marcella Santoso was sentenced to 14 years in prison with a Rp600 million fine, in lieu of 150 days. Ariyanto was sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment with a Rp600 million fine, in lieu of 150 days. Both were ordered to pay replacement money totaling Rp16.2 billion, in lieu of six years’ imprisonment; the funds are believed to derive from USD 1 million considered to be Marcella’s profits from the case. The court found that Marcella violated Article 6(1)(a) in conjunction with Article 18 of Law No. 31/1999 on the Eradication of Corruption, as well as Article 56(1)(1) of the Penal Code. It also found violations of Article 3 of Law No. 8 of 2010 on the Eradication and Prevention of TPPU in conjunction with Article 55(1)(1) of the Penal Code. The panel believed that Marcella had known from the outset and approved the bribery attempt initiated by Ariyanto.