New ruling pledges retribution in kind for corruptors
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
High profile corruption suspects will surely have difficult times ahead as a new anti-graft ruling currently being drafted by the government will not only allow authorities to detain them from the start of probe, but also will allow the state to immediately confiscate their personal assets.
According to the draft of a government regulation in lieu of the Anticorruption Law, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post on Friday, the amount of wealth that can be confiscated by the state is equal to the size of financial losses suffered by the state.
Furthermore, a graft suspect will not be allowed to transfer his or her personal wealth to relatives immediately after he or she is suspected of a crime. The graft suspect or those linked to the corruption case could also be banned from traveling abroad.
For investigation purposes, investigators may seek information on the wealth condition of the suspects from banks or other financial institutions.
The government has been drafting the regulation as part of efforts to fight the rampant corruption in the country.
As previously reported, the ruling would only apply to high profile corruption case involving state losses of at least Rp 50 billion (US$5.3 million). Corruption suspects will be immediately detained by the authorities at the start of the investigation until a final verdict has been issued by the Supreme Court to prevent them from fleeing the country -- a regular occurrence with many suspected corrupters.
The government considers corruption an extraordinary crime, requiring extraordinary measures.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who promised a serious fight against corruption during the presidential campaign, is expected to meet with the House of Representatives leaders on Monday to discuss the draft.
According to Article 3 of the draft, anyone accused of corruption valued at Rp 50 billion or more, would face a maximum penalty of the death sentence and a minimum sentence of five years in jail.
The corruptor may also be fined, the amount equal to the amount of state loss or at least Rp 1 billion.
According to the regulation, any government official or institution that receives Rp 10 million or more from other people must prove that the money is not a bribe. If the gift is less than Rp 10 million, it will be the duty of the state prosecutor to prove that it is a bribe.
Investigations into alleged graft cases could be launched by a team of investigators and state prosecutors under coordination by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
For investigation purposes, the team can launch a raid, confiscate property and tap phone conversations without a permit from a district court.
Within three days after any of the above actions, investigators must inform the head of the district court.
The detention of graft suspects can be made directly, without a permit from his/her superior.
Under the draft government regulation, the investigation, the prosecution and the trial of graft cases must have be finished within 90 days.
The investigation must be finished no later than 40 days, the prosecution must be made within 20 days, and the trial process must be no more than 30 days.
An appeal to the Supreme Court must be made no later than five days after the verdict is handed down. The Supreme Court will issue the final verdict no later than 30 days after that.