MA-gate should prompt total judicial probe
MA-gate should prompt total judicial probe
From Republika
The revelation about the bribes of Rp 6 billion paid to
members of the Supreme Court (MA), involving the appeal in a Rp
100 billion corruption case allegedly perpetrated by conglomerate
boss Probosutejo, can be used as important momentum. Moreover, he
also admitted having spent Rp 10 billion in order to get off
lightly in the district court and the high court.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Judicial
Commission should be able to utilize this momentum to examine all
members of district/high court judicial panels involved in and/or
passing verdicts on Probosutejo's reforestation fund graft case.
The probe conducted by KPK and the Judicial Commission should
no be allowed to be swept under the carpet despite the statement
made by Attorney General Abdurrahman Saleh that chief justice
Bagir Manan -- who is at the center of the bribe allegations --
has not been implicated.
Likewise, a district court judge, Andi Samsan Nganro, said
that the bribery at the court level was impossible "because the
district court's sentence was just one year longer -- four years
in prison instead of three years as demanded by the prosecutor".
The four-year imprisonment for involvement in a Rp 100 billion
corruption case is, in fact, too lenient. There might have been
collusion between the prosecutor and the panel of judges so that,
with only three years demanded, one more year was added in order
to make the penalty appear "harsher".
Besides, Probosutejo was likely to have spent Rp 10 billion to
bribe the lower court judges, but they actually received less
than the amount. The money could have been "pilfered" on its way
by brokers, who might be his attorneys, court clerks and others.
KPK should therefore also uncover these things because such
broker fees would never be reported to tax authorities, which is
called tax evasion.
It is not surprising that attorneys handling mega-corruption
cases are wealthy people, as the amount of money stolen in these
crimes is so huge that the fees for lawyers and brokers plus the
bribes for judges (also the police and prosecutors) have to be
comparatively big if the accused wishes to be free or leniently
treated.
WISDARMANTO Gs
Jakarta