Prosecutors talk tough on graft, still no action
Prosecutors talk tough on graft, still no action
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
State prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for the former
commissioner and president of the now-defunct BHS Bank, Hendra
Rahardja, in a corruption case that cost the state more than Rp
2.6 trillion (about US$260 million) in losses.
They also urged the Central Jakarta District Court to sentence
former BHS Bank commissioner Eko Edi Putranto and former director
Sherny Konjongian to 20 years in jail each.
Prosecutor Andi Rahman Asbar, who read the sentence demand,
also asked the court to order the three defendants to pay
compensation of Rp 1.95 trillion (about $195 million) to the
state.
The three defendants were charged with Anticorruption Law No.
3/1971, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail.
The sentence recommendations were obviously beyond
expectations because, never before has a prosecutor sought the
maximum penalty, let alone a life sentence for a defendant in a
corruption case.
Despite the hearing, all three defendants are still on the
lam.
Lawyers Alamsyah Hanafiah and OC Kaligis earlier insisted that
they wanted to prepare a defense, but the court rejected the
request as the defendants are still at large. On Monday, however,
the lawyers were allowed to present their legal opinion.
Bank BHS received Bank Indonesia Liquidity Credit from 1993 to
1997, and the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support, from 1997 to
1999. Most of the money, however, was misappropriated.
Bank Indonesia had disbursed BLBI funds amounting to Rp 144.5
trillion to 48 banks to help them during the economic crisis, but
the Supreme Audit Agency revealed in 1999 that 95 percent of the
funds were misused.
Only 12 people have been prosecuted in the BLBI debacle.
On Monday, the West Jakarta District Court sentenced David
Nusa Wijaya of Bank Umum Servitia to one year in jail for
corruption and ordered him to pay back the Rp 1.27 billion he had
misused. The prosecutor earlier asked the court to sentence David
to four years in jail.
Last year, the Central Jakarta District Court sentenced
Hendrawan Harjono of Bank Aspac to one year for violating bank
laws, and fined him Rp 500 million. He was acquitted of
corruption charges. The prosecutor had earlier asked the court to
sentence Hendrawan to five years imprisonment for corruption.