Ex-minister, politicians get 16-month jail sentences

Ina Parlina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 06/18/2011

The Corruption Court on Friday found former minister Paskah Suzetta and four fellow Golkar Party politicians guilty of receiving bribes in exchange for their votes to elect a Bank Indonesia top official in 2004.

The crime occurred when Paskah, Ahmad Hafiz Zawawi, Martin Bria Seran, Bobby Suhadirman and Anthony Zeidra Abidin were members of the House of Representatives’ commission overseeing finance and banking for the 1999-2004 period.

“All five defendants have been proven guilty of receiving gifts in their positions as state officials,” said presiding judge Suediya when delivering the verdict. All five were sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay Rp 50 million (US$5,850) each in fines or serve an additional three months of jail time each.

The verdicts were read out in two separate trials on Friday.

The judges said the five defendants should have been fully aware that the bribes, which were given to them in the form of traveler’s checks immediately after Miranda Swaray Goeltom was elected Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor, were a form of bribery.

Paskah a former National Development Planning minister had denied that he had received Rp 600 million ($70,200) in the form of 12 traveler’s checks.

“Paskah’s statement of denial did not match testimonies from witnesses Hamka Yandhu and Abdullah Chaniago,” judge Suediya said during the trial.

“We decided to uphold Hamka’s testimony, which stated that he had handed the traveler’s checks in an envelope to Paskah when they were traveling in a car together.”

Paskah insisted before the Court on Friday that they must find “the missing link between the bribe payer and the receiver” in the vote-buying case that has implicated at least 30 former and current lawmakers from Golkar, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the United Development Party (PPP).

“The court must first try the bribe payer instead of the receiver,” he said. Paskah said he respected the court’s verdict, but would consider appealing it.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has not come up with a legal basis to implicate Miranda, who no longer chairs the central bank’s board of governors, in part due to its failure to bring a key witness, Nunun Nurbaeti, in for questioning.

Nunun, the wife of former National Police deputy chief Adang Daradjatun, is the alleged “middleman” responsible for distributing 480 traveler’s checks worth Rp 24 billion to legislators.

Previously, her family claimed that she was receiving medical treatment for her “severe forgetfulness” in Singapore. Later on, an uncorroborated report by Law and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar stated that Nunun had evaded arrest by fleeing from Singapore to Cambodia. However, the KPK said Thursday that she was no longer in Cambodia.

“After conducting investigations based on data and information from investigators and many other relevant parties, the KPK has concluded that Nunun Nurbaeti is no longer in Cambodia,” KPK spokesman Johan Budi said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Johan refused to disclose Nunun’s whereabouts, saying that to do so would disrupt efforts to bring her home.

The KPK has asked the Law and Human Rights Ministry to revoke Nunun’s passport, and has also asked the police to issue a request for Interpol in France to conduct a search for her across 188 countries.