Swindler gets 4 years

BANDAR LAMPUNG, Lampung: The district court sentenced a woman to four years imprisonment for swindling Rp 3 billion (US$1.3 million) mostly from local and West Java businessmen.

Judge Dardiri said in the verdict that the convict, 45-year- old Dewi Untari, a resident of Bandar Lampung, was guilty of defrauding the victims.

Untari, the judge said, cleverly convinced her victims to give her a certain amount of money that she promised would multiply by magic.

Earlier, the prosecutor sought five years imprisonment for Untari. But the judge said she deserved a more lenient sentence than demanded because of her mature age and because she was well- behaved during the trials, Antara reported.

The court heard from 15 witnesses, including R. Tampubolon, a businessman from Bandung who claimed to have lost Rp 2.7 billion.

The judge said that to lure prospective victims, the convict used to claim that among her successful clients were Vice President Try Sutrisno and chief of the Indonesian Democratic Party Megawati Soekarnoputri. (pan)