Semuel Abrijani sentenced to 6 years in prison for accepting bribes in PDNS case
Jakarta — Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, Director General of Information Technology Applications at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology from 2016 to 2024, has been sentenced to 6 years in prison after being found guilty of accepting bribes in the National Data Centre Interim (PDNS) corruption case.
Chief Judge Lucy Ermawati ruled that Semuel accepted bribes totalling Rp6.5 billion from defendant Alfi Asman in exchange for awarding contracts to PT Aplikanusa Lintasarta in several projects, resulting in state financial losses.
“The court finds the defendant Semuel guilty beyond reasonable doubt of committing a criminal act, complicity in corruption, as charged in the primary first alternative charge,” the Chief Judge stated during the ruling hearing before the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.
In addition to imprisonment, Semuel was also ordered to pay a fine of Rp500 million, or alternatively serve an additional 140 days in prison if unpaid.
The judges additionally sentenced Semuel to pay restitution of Rp6.5 billion, with credit given for Rp6 billion already returned and confiscated. This leaves a remaining balance of Rp500 million to be paid, or alternatively 6 months additional imprisonment if unpaid.
Before delivering the verdict, the Chief Judge considered both aggravating and mitigating circumstances in Semuel’s case. The aggravating factors included that his actions undermined the government’s anti-corruption efforts and caused state financial losses. Mitigating factors included his previously clean record, family dependants, courteous conduct, and partial restitution of the illicit proceeds.
Based on Semuel’s actions along with four other defendants, the court determined that the state suffered losses of Rp140.86 billion due to the enrichment of PT Aplikanusa Lintasarta.
The four other defendants in the alleged corruption case involving procurement and management of PDNS at the Communications and Information Technology Ministry (2020-2022) received the following sentences: Alfi Asman, Business Director of PT Aplikanusa Lintasarta (2014-2022), and Pini Panggar Agusti, Account Manager of PT Dokotel Teknologi (2017-2021), each received 6 years imprisonment. Bambang Dwi Anggono, Director of Government Information Technology Applications Services at the Directorate General of Informatika Applications (2019-2023), received 9 years imprisonment. Nova Zanda, commitment-making official in procurement and PDNS management at the Communications and Information Technology Ministry (2020-2022), received 5 years imprisonment.
Like Semuel, all four defendants were also ordered to pay fines of Rp500 million each, or alternatively 140 days imprisonment if unpaid. Additionally, Bambang and Pini were ordered to pay restitution of Rp1.5 billion and Rp1 billion respectively, with alternative imprisonment of 1 year and 6 months respectively if unpaid.
All defendants were found guilty of violating Article 603 in conjunction with Article 20(c) of the Indonesian Criminal Code, read together with Article 18 of Law No. 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Corruption Offences, as amended by Law No. 20 of 2001.
The sentences were lighter than the prosecutor’s demands. The prosecution had previously sought 7 years imprisonment for both Semuel and Alfi, 10 years for Bambang, 6 years for Nova, and 8 years for Pini. The prosecution also sought larger fines of Rp750 million each, with alternative imprisonment of 165 days if unpaid.
The prosecution had also requested additional restitution sentences: Semuel was to pay Rp6 billion (with credit for confiscated assets), Bambang Rp3 billion (or 4 years imprisonment if unpaid), and Pini Rp1 billion (or 2 years imprisonment if unpaid).