Savings chain bosses get 3 years in jail

Savings chain bosses get 3 years in jail

JAKARTA (JP): The South Jakarta District Court sentenced a
husband and wife yesterday to three years imprisonment each for
falsifying their trading license, which they used to defraud
people through an illegal savings chain.

Presiding Judge Dorris A.A. Taulo said Sindi Husein and Anneke
Kolondam were guilty of violating the terms of their trading
license, which was issued by the Ministry of Trade's city office
to PT Saptamitra Ekakarya.

Saptamitra, whose head office is located in Pasar Minggu,
South Jakarta, had a license to sell furniture, electronic goods
and industrialized items.

Sindi and his wife, commissioner and director of the firm,
respectively, illegally told clients that their company was also
authorized to deal with administrative services, the judge said.

He added that the company also ran the Danasonic savings
chain, locally known as arisan, on the same license.

The defendants swindled the savings participants by promising
each of them a total of Rp 10.2 million from the savings.

Arisan is a periodic gathering of people who draw lots, with
the winner taking home the sum of money contributed by the
members.

One Danasonic participant was obliged to pay Rp 10,000 ($4.5)
to each participant whose name was listed at the top of the
coupon.

The newcomer then confirmed the transaction by sending Rp
11,000 to PT Saptamitra Ekakarya in administration fees. The firm
then sent four extra coupons to the participant.

If the newcomer succeeds in selling the four extra coupons at
10,000 each, he or she will earn an extra Rp 9,000.

Each new member was promised Rp 10.24 million after selling
their coupons to other active participants.

"With around 500,000 participants all over the country, the
defendants swindled nearly Rp 5.5 billion in administration
fees," the judge said.

The defendants violated articles 263 and 378 of the Criminal
Code, the judge said. "What they have done sparked public
unrest."

The court also asked the prosecutor to confiscate 24 computers
and Rp 647 million cash from PT Saptamitra Ekakarya.

Prosecutor TS Limbong originally asked the court to sentence
each to five years in jail.

The defendants said they would appeal. (29)