Anti-corruption officer jailed for corruption
Indonesian President SBY is trying hard to rid the country of corruption. His Corruption Eradication Commission has done a lot of good work weeding out corrupt governers, but as a Jaakrta Post article points out, sometimes you can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys.
Graft investigator jailed for extortion
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator was sentenced Wednesday to eight years’ imprisonment and fined Rp 200 million (US$21,929.8) for corruption and blackmailing a witness.
The Anticorruption Court also ruled that Suparman, a retired police officer, would receive an additional eights months on his jail term if he failed to pay the fine.
Prosecutors sought 12 years in prison and a Rp 200 million fine.
“The defendant has legally and convincingly been proven of committing a corruption crime,” presiding judge Masrurdin Chaniago was quoted by Antara newswire as saying in the verdict.
Suparman reacted emotionally to the verdict, and was heard muttering obscenities. He vowed to appeal.
Masrurdin said Suparman misused his authority as a KPK investigator by compelling Tintin Surtini, a witness in a corruption case at textile firm PT Industri Sandang Nusantara, to give him money and goods.
Suparman threatened to make her a corruption suspect and separate her from her family if she did not comply, the court heard.
Suparman was among the KPK investigators handling a graft cast at the company last year.
In their indictment, prosecutors told the court that Suparman held a series of 14 meetings with Tintin from mid-2005 to March 2006. In the meetings, which were unrelated to the formal investigation, he forced Tintin to pay him Rp 439 million and US$300.
The defendant returned only Rp 100 million of the funds.
“The defendant also asked Tintin to exchange his two cell phones with three Nokia 9500 models,” the presiding judge said.
Tintin complied with the demand.
The judges said Suparman’s meetings with Tintin violated the 2002 law that bans KPK prosecutors from having any nonessential contact with witnesses.
He had failed to set a good example for the public, and instead tarnished the KPK’s images with his acts, they added.
Although he had not shown remorse for his crimes, the judges said mitigating factors in sentencing was his polite conduct during the trial and that he had a family.
“I will appeal. It’s all lies. It’s only based on one witness’ testimony,” Suparman said.