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Indonesian Judge Faces 20 Years for Graft
Rizky Amelia | February 03, 2012

Syarifuddin Umar is accused of abusing his position on the bench to receive a $28,000 bribe. (JG Photo) Syarifuddin Umar is accused of abusing his position on the bench to receive a $28,000 bribe. (JG Photo)
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DrDez
7:51am Feb 4, 2012

not a chance in hell... 2 years MAX

The prosecutors are responding to public pressure and they can say hey look we are serious about tackling corruption so look somewhere else...deflection, denial, duplicity... The 3D's


anon.everywhere
7:15am Feb 4, 2012

20 years in prison minimum

Remissions available only for good behavior after serving 50% of the initial sentence and these remissions to be applied as a pre-determined monetary value against the fine imposed - not against the length of time to serve

KampungHighlander
6:54pm Feb 3, 2012

That would work out roughly to 1 month for each million stolen. It would be good if the country adopted a mandatory sentencing structure like this. It might also want to include a fine equal to the amount received with no access to sentence remission until the fine is paid.

blightyboy
6:52pm Feb 3, 2012

He certainly deserves it. What about the rest?

antifreeze
5:31pm Feb 3, 2012

Praps this would be a good benchmark to adopt?

20 years for every 250 million stolen.

Lawmakers take note.

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Prosecutors at the Jakarta Anti- Corruption Court on Thursday demanded the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for a suspended Central Jakarta District Court judge accused of accepting Rp 250 million ($28,000) in bribes.

M. Syarifuddin Umar allegedly received a payoff from Puguh Wirawan, a curator handling a bankruptcy case involving clothing firm Skycamping Indonesia.

Puguh, who was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in November for his role in the case, reportedly paid the judge to overvalue the company’s assets at Rp 35 billion — significantly higher than the Rp 25 billion valuation by Bank Nasional Indonesia and the tax office.

On Thursday, Zet Todung Allo, who leads a team of prosecutors from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), told the court that Syarifuddin’s abuse of his position as a judge had damaged the reputation of the country’s judicial system.

“Throughout the trial we have found no mitigating circumstances for the defendant,” Zet told the court. He said that Syarifuddin should receive the maximum penalty.”

The prosecution also argued that Syarifuddin had been uncooperative throughout the KPK investigation by making a number of counterallegations against the antigraft agency.

“The defendant even accused the prosecution of forcing a witness to lie,” Zet said.

The prosecution also sought a Rp 500 million fine.

Syarifuddin told the court his lawyers would respond to the sentencing demand when the trial resumed next week.

“We request to be given one week to present our response. Myself and my team of lawyers will present our arguments separately,” he said.

Puguh and Syarifuddin were arrested on June 1 last year. Officials confiscated banknotes in various foreign currencies totaling around Rp 2 billion from the judge’s house.

The arrest served as confirmation for antigraft groups that have long accused the judge of wrongdoing.

Indonesia Corruption Watch said in June that it had documented 37 cases in which Syarifuddin had acquitted corruption suspects, some in suspicious circumstances, while serving as a judge at the Makassar and Central Jakarta district courts.

Antigraft groups also alleged that Syarifuddin received Rp 5 billion in bribes from Bengkulu Governor Agusrin Maryono Najamuddin when he was on trial for embezzling Rp 20.1 billion worth of land and building tax revenue in 2006.

A panel of judges, led by Syarifuddin, acquitted Agusrin last May but the acquittal was overturned by the Supreme Court last month.

Agusrin is now serving four years in prison for corruption.