Sampang regent faces 20-year term

Sampang regent faces 20-year term

SAMPANG, East Java: Sampang Regent Fadhilah Budiono could be facing a 20-year prison sentence if convicted of involvement in embezzling rice aid for the poor worth Rp 1.8 billion, a senior prosecutor said.

The head of the East Java High Prosecutor's Office, Heru Mustofa, said that prosecution authorities would bring the regent's case before the court as part of what he termed a "combined trial" in Sampang, a regency of Madura island in East Java province.

The combined trial would be heard by three civilian judges and two military judges, with the prosecution being brought by one prosecutor from the prosecutor's office and the military respectively.

"This sort of trial is being held because when he engaged in the suspected corruption three years ago, he was still an active police colonel, whereas now he is retired," he said.

After being questioned by military prosecutors, the regent was found to have sold 721.2 tons of rice intended for the poor to the public, and to have actually only distributed some 262.2 tons of the free rice to those in need.

Selling the rice to the public is against government regulations, Heru said, adding that Fadhilah would be charged with violating article 28 of anticorruption law No. 3/1971; article 3 of anti-corruption law No. 33/1999, and article 64 of the Criminal Code. --JP