Prosecutors demand minimum sentence for Akbar

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With merely circumstantial evidence in hand, prosecutors in the corruption trial of House Speaker Akbar Tandjung demanded on Wednesday a four-year jail term for the defendant for masterminding the scandal.

The prosecutors said the court had heard too many lies as Akbar and the other two defendants in the case had given "shallow and illogical statements" during the trial, which had run for three months. Evidence that the defendants exploited the poor for their own benefit had led the prosecutors to seek jail terms that were heavier than sentences handed down to those convicted in other recent corruption cases.

Prosecutors demanded three-and-a-half-year prison sentences for defendants Dadang Sukandar and Winfried Simatupang, including their term of detention.

Corruption carries a minimum sentence of four years in jail and a maximum of 20 years according to the 2001 revision of the 1999 Anticorruption Law, although under extraordinary circumstances the crime carries the death penalty.

Prosecutor Fachmi insisted that Akbar had abused his power while he was minister/state secretary in 1999, which caused Rp 40 billion in state losses.

The prosecutors also demanded the three defendants pay a Rp 10 million fine each or serve a further three months in prison.

"We also ask the court to detain the defendants before issuing the verdict," Fachmi said.

The case revolves around an order given by then president B.J. Habibie to distribute food for the poor during the prolonged economic crisis in 1997.

Akbar later appointed the Raudlatul Jannah Islamic Foundation, which Dadang chairs, to channel the money that was taken from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) for the project. Winfried was named the contractor. The project was found to be a scam following months of investigation, which began last year.

Reading the charges in turn, the prosecutors underlined that, except for Dadang and Winfried's statements, nobody else was able to prove they had actually received the money.

Winfried told the court he had kept Rp 40 billion in cash in his bedroom inside a filing cabinet. In the separate trial of former Bulog chairman Rahardi Ramelan, Winfried claimed he was willing to get Akbar out of trouble by returning the money.

Prosecutors also said that Akbar's failure to hold an open tender for the project and his refusal to sign any documents for the disbursement or the use of the money proved he was in possession of the money.

"There are still unanswered questions on who disbursed the money because all the names involved are fictitious," Fachmi told the court.

Presiding Judge Amiruddin Zakaria adjourned the hearing until July 31 to hear the defense.

The verdict is expected to be issued in the second week of August, when Akbar and other legislators are slated to convene for the People's Consultative Assembly Annual Session.