Democratic Party benefactor Siti Hartati Murdaya Poo will file an appeal over her 32-month prison sentence, which was handed down by the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court on Monday after they convicted her of bribery, her lawyer said. “We will file an appeal,” Hartati's lawyer Denny said on Monday night, adding that Hartati considered the sentence unfair. The businesswoman, who was also ordered to pay a Rp 150 million fine ($15,500), was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison after she attempted to pay a district head in Buol, Central Sulawesi, a Rp 3 billion ($310,000) bribe in exchange for the right to establish new palm oil plantation in the resource-rich district.
The sentence was nearly half of the five years recommended by prosecutors at the start of the trial. The presiding judge Gusrizal said that Hartati had been proven guilty of violating Article 5 of the Anti-Corruption Law and Article 55 of the Criminal Code. Hartati initially claimed the money was a donation, but later said she was extorted by the district head. Denny said that the ruling was flawed because Amran Batalipu, the former district head, was not serving as a public official when Hartati delivered the money.
Denny claimed that Amran was on leave as he was about to contest the district chief election. “This can be legally argued,” Denny said. “The judge's ruling shows that there is no incumbent. All [incumbents] are considered as active government officials. What about the cases with other incumbents [who received political donation].”
source : the jakarta globe
source : the jakarta globe
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