Spa Therapist Sentenced to 2.5 Years for Embezzling Rp1.2 Billion from Client's ATM

A spa therapist in Surabaya, Nur Hasanah, has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison by the Surabaya District Court after being found guilty of embezzling Rp1.28 billion from an ATM card belonging to her client, Tonny Soegiono. The verdict was read by Presiding Judge Purnomo Hadiyarto in a session at the Surabaya District Court on Wednesday (15/7). The panel declared that the defendant Nur Hasanah was proven to have stolen Tonny’s money amounting to Rp1.2 billion. “We rule that the defendant Nur Hasanah Prasetya is legally and convincingly proven guilty of committing the crime of theft. And we sentence the defendant to imprisonment for 2 years and 6 months,” said Purnomo. Purnomo stated that based on the facts of the trial, Nur Hasanah was proven to have violated Article 477 paragraph (1) letter g in conjunction with Article 126 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code, as contained in the Single Indictment of the Public Prosecutor. In response to the verdict, Nur Hasanah, through her lawyer, stated she was considering her options. The same stance was conveyed by Public Prosecutor Hasanudin Tandilolo. The Presiding Judge then gave the defendant seven days to accept the verdict or file an appeal. “Very well. We give you seven days to file an appeal. If there is no appeal within that time, it means the defendant accepts the verdict,” he said. The sentence handed down by the judge was lighter than the prosecutor’s previous demand of 3 years in prison. Public Prosecutor Hasanuddin Tandilolo, in his indictment, stated that Nur Hasannah was legally and convincingly proven to have committed theft under aggravating circumstances in accordance with the single indictment. The prosecutor assessed that the defendant’s actions fell into the category of theft under aggravating circumstances, not merely a civil dispute, because it was carried out by repeatedly accessing the victim’s account using the victim Tonny’s ATM card and PIN. The prosecutor also requested that the entire period of arrest and detention already served by the defendant be deducted from the total sentence imposed. After the demand was read, Presiding Judge Purnomo Hadiyarto gave the defendant the opportunity to submit a defence plea. Nur Hasannah’s legal counsel, Zulfan Badrun Naja, immediately read it before the panel of judges. Zulfan argued that the prosecutor prepared the charges rigidly and ignored facts revealed during the trial, including the spirit of restorative justice in this case. He claimed the victim, Tonny Soegiono, had forgiven his client and was willing to accept compensation in stages. “The victim stated he was willing to accept payment in instalments according to the defendant’s ability,” said Zulfan. He also questioned the testimony of a factual witness named Solikin, the victim’s former driver, who claimed that part of his statement in the investigation report was the result of direction from the complainant, thus lacking strong evidentiary value. Zulfan further argued that the element of unlawfulness was not fulfilled because the ATM card and PIN were voluntarily handed over by the victim within their personal relationship. “The victim never limited transactions as long as the relationship was harmonious,” he said. In her defence, Nur Hasannah also admitted to having a romantic relationship with the victim since around 2024. She claimed she was given the freedom to use the complainant’s debit card, even with the complainant’s knowledge during transactions. “He always checked the balance on the debit card I used,” she said. Nur Hasannah stated that this legal problem began after she asked to end the relationship. The complainant then demanded that all the money used be returned. She claimed to have paid back around Rp350 million in instalments, but the complainant no longer responded.