Ratu Atut’s Jail Sentence Condemned as Too Low

The Jakarta Globe, Sep 01, 2014


Jakarta/Serang. The Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court on Monday sentenced suspended Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah to four years in prison for bribing the country’s top judge to sway the results of a regional election.

“[The judges] declare defendant Ratu Atut Chosiyah as being validly and convincingly guilty of conspiring to corrupt,” Matheus Samiadji, the presiding judge, said as he handed down the verdict in the case.

“[ The judges ] sentence the defendant to four years’ imprisonment [and to pay] a Rp 200 million [$17,000] fine, or spend an additional five months in jail.”

Atut was convicted of paying Rp 1 billion to Akil Mochtar, the then-chief justice of the Constitutional Court, to issue a ruling favorable to her preferred candidate in the Aug. 31, 2013, election for district head in Banten’s Lebak district.

Akil was sentenced in June to an unprecedented life sentence, while Atut’s brother, Tubagus Chaeri “Wawan” Wardana, and lawyer Susi Tur Andayani were sentenced to five years in prison for arranging the payoff.

A Golkar Party legislator, Chairunnisa, was sentenced to four years for her role in the case. However, Amir Hamzah, the Golkar-backed candidate who lost the election and on whose behalf Atut tried to bribe the judge, has not been charged.

Atut’s sentence is substantially lighter than the 10 years and Rp 250 million fine sought by prosecutors.

Matheus said Atut had failed to act in support of the government’s fight against corruption, but added that the judges had also taken into consideration her role as a mother and grandmother.

Alexander Marwata, a member of the five-judge panel, voiced a dissenting opinion, saying Atut was not guilty as charged.

He said prosecutors had failed to prove that Atut had intended to bribe Akil to rule in favor of Amir in the Lebak election dispute case.

“The defendant was not proven guilty of corruption and must be acquitted,” Alexander said at Monday’s hearing.

He added that a meeting last year between Atut, Wawan and Akil in Singapore, ahead of the Lebak ruling, was only a coincidence.

“The meeting with Akil wasn’t planned; it wasn’t intended to discuss the Lebak election dispute,” Alexander said, adding that the Lebak issue was not discussed at all during the meeting.

Another judge, Sutio Jumagi, said the court rejected the demand by prosecutors from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) that Atut have her political rights revoked due to the seriousness of her crime. Those rights include the right to vote and stand in elections — the very same kind of election she conspired to rig.

“The panel of judges disagrees [with the demand], considering that the defendant… has been sentenced to imprisonment and is still undergoing process in another corruption case,” Sutio said.

The KPK is preparing to bring Atut to trial for extortion in a separate case concerning the procurement of medical equipment for the Banten administration between 2011 and 2013.

“People in Banten are smart enough to assess and select someone for a public position; she will be naturally eliminated [in the political process], without [us] having to revoke her rights,” Sutio added.

Outside the court room, Matheus said that it was a “normal” sentence, despite falling short of what the prosecutors had been seeking.

“Although we declared [Atut] proven guilty, the judging panel think it’s a normal sentencing,” he said. “You would see that if you’ve followed the course of [the hearings].”

‘Not fair’

Despite getting away with a more lenient sentence than she could have faced, Atut denounced the sentence as unfair and proclaimed her innocence.

“It is clearly not fair,” she said after the hearing, adding that one of the judges had voiced a dissenting opinion and called for her acquittal. “One judge acquitted me.”

She said she and her brother were the victims of a conspiracy by Susi and Amir.

“Whenever they communicated with Akil, Susi always dropped my name and she forced my brother [to help her],” Atut said.

She added that it was up to the KPK to go after Amir, who has so far has only been questioned as a witness in the case.

A leading antigraft watchdog agreed that the sentence was unfair, but for a different reason.

Indonesia Corruption Watch, which has been very vocal about the need to go after the deeply corrupt hierarchy of power that Atut and her extended family had established in Banten, said the sentence was far too lenient.

The organization had earlier urged court to slap the governor with a 15-year sentence, even higher than the prosecution’s demand.

“This is a disappointing verdict, especially for the people of Banten,” ICW coordinator Ade Irawan said on Monday.

“The sentence is low for the kind of corruption at the scale committed by Atut. Bribing the chief justice of the Constitutional Court, the last bastion of democracy, has ruined the public’s trust in the institution.”

The Serang People Fighters (Peras), a community advocacy group based in Serang, the Banten provincial capital, also expressed its disappointment at the lenient sentence.

“I was hoping the judges would rule based on the demand of the KPK prosecutors, handing down a 10-year prison sentence,” Peras chief Kharielz Bowie said on Monday.

“But it turns out the verdict was very low, not even half of what the prosecutors had demanded. Such a verdict hurts justice, and the feelings of the people of Banten. The law is proven to be blunt when it comes to those on top, but very sharp when it comes to those at the bottom.”

Mukhtar Ansori, the coordinator of the Alliance of Banten Democracy Upholders for the People (Pendobrak), agreed.

“The sentence is very light, only four years. We’re urging the KPK to investigate other cases involving Atut, especially concerning grants and social aid funds [issued by the Banten administration],” he said.

ICW accuses Atut and her family and cronies of farming out grants and social aid funds to companies and foundations that they own or control.

Mukhtar said the corruption committed by Atut’s family in Banten was “systematic and structured.”

“We really hope [that law enforcers] will send Atut and her cronies to the poorhouse,” Mukhtar said. “The KPK and the PPATK [Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center] can track the wealth of Atut and her cronies. She should be charged with money laundering.”

Both Atut and KPK prosecutors have said they will consider whether to appeal Monday’s verdict.



*