Lawyer Denies Client Received Money in Case of Prosecutors Extorting Contractor in Kupang
Lawyer for Gusti Pisdon, Nikolas Ke Lomi, has denied that his client received money from the defendant or contractor Hironimus Sonbay in the alleged extortion case that has implicated several prosecutors in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
The denial responds to statements made during the plea hearing of defendant Hironimus Sonbay alias Roni at the Kupang Corruption Court (PN Tipikor Kupang) on Tuesday night (28/4/2026).
“As stated by Mr Francisco in the trial, it is not true that our client received money from Hironimus Sonbay’s client,” Nikolas said during a press conference in Kupang City, NTT, on Friday (30/6/2026).
Nikolas stated that, based on confirmation with Gusti Pisdon, his client never received money from Roni to then hand it over to the Medan Chief Prosecutor, Ridwan Sujana Angsar, in North Sumatra.
“So according to our client, that is a lie,” Nikolas explained.
He assessed that, as an advocate, every statement in the trial should be based on evidence that can be tested for truthfulness.
“Therefore, we have filed a police report regarding defamation or insult,” Nikolas said.
One of Gusti’s lawyers, Bildad Thonak, added that the police report has been submitted to the NTT Provincial Police with the suspect being Francisco Bessie. According to Bildad, Francisco’s statement never appeared in the trial facts, either during the examination of witness Gusti or defendant Roni.
“Then we have checked Hironimus Sonbay’s testimony that he never gave testimony that there were any money flows,” Bildad said.
Separately, Francisco Bessie stated that the report against him is the right of the complainants. He claimed not to take issue with the report.
“That’s their right, I thrive by working correctly. I just laugh about the report,” Francisco concluded.
In this case, the name of Medan Chief Prosecutor Ridwan Sujana Angsar and the Coordinator for General Criminal Affairs (Pidum) of the NTT Attorney General’s Office, Noven Verderikus Bulan, are also implicated in the alleged extortion of Roni.
The allegations emerged in the reading of the plea note by Roni’s legal counsel, Francisco Bessie, at PN Tipikor Kupang on Tuesday night (28/4/2026).
The hearing was chaired by Chief Judge I Nyoman Agus Hermawan with members Raden Haris Prasetyo and Bibik Nurudduja. The defendants in this case are Roni, Didik, and Hendro Ndolu.
“From the beginning, this case has been too forced because the defendant has already paid a lot of money to rogue prosecutors, namely Ridwan Sujana Angsar who at that time served as Chief Prosecutor of Oelamasi, Kupang Regency,” Francisco said while reading the plea note on Monday.
Francisco revealed that Ridwan is said to have received Rp 140 million in 2022, paid in stages. The first payment of Rp 50 million was made at Hotel Sasando in Kupang City. The second payment of Rp 50 million was handed over through a person named Gusty Pisdon at his home in Sikumana Sub-district, Kupang City.
Subsequently, Ridwan met Roni at Hotel Naka. In that meeting, Ridwan mentioned that the money he received was only Rp 40 million. Roni then called Gusty to ask about the remaining money.
Gusty claimed to have given Rp 10 million to Benfrid Foeh, who was later known to be a prosecutor. Ridwan is also said to have met defendant Didik at Oepoi Sports Hall in Kupang City and requested an additional Rp 50 million.
“At that time, the prosecutor named Ridwan Sujana Angsar said that I don’t want to know, you two (Roni and Didik) must prepare Rp 50 million, tomorrow you must hand it over to me because there is a need in Jakarta,” Francisco quoted.