Man gets three years for arson

JAKARTA (JP): Zainal Arifin, 44, was sentenced to three years in prison by the Central Jakarta District Court on Friday, for torching the Development and Finance Comptroller Agency (BPKP) building on Jl. Hayam Wuruk last October.

The court found Zainal Arifin guilty of arson, presiding judge Musa Simatupang told the hearing.

The sentence was heavier than the 30-month-long jail term demanded by prosecutor Amri Sata.

Documents on Bank Indonesia's liquidity support loans (BLBI) were destroyed in the fire.

At the hearing, judge Musa said that it had been clearly proven in initial court proceedings that the defendant, who was a BPKP tax auditor, had doused fuel around the building and torched the building to destroy documents on Bank Indonesia's liquidity support loans (BLBI) on Oct. 12 last year.

While the prosecutor accepted the verdict, the defendant's lawyer, Ojack Sihotang, said that his client would appeal. (ylt)