0 Hartati Facing 5-Year Sentence

Prosecutors on Monday asked that Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court judges sentence businesswoman Siti Hartati Murdaya to five years in jail for bribery. “We recommend that the defendant, Siti Hartati Murdaya, be declared guilty of corruption and sentenced to five years in jail with a fine of Rp 200 million or an additional four months in jail,” prosecutor Edy Hartoyo told the court. Hartati, a close aide of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was named a graft suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in August. 

She is said to have offered Rp 3 billion ($313,000) in kickbacks to Amran Batalipu, the former head of Central Sulawesi’s Buol district, in exchange for land concessions for her oil palm plantation companies, Hardaya Inti Plantation and Cipta Cakra Murdaya. Hartati initially claimed that the money was a donation, but later said she was extorted by Amran. Reading the 300-page recommendation, Edy said that Hartati, by engaging in the crime, did not support the government’s anti-corruption drive and expanded her plantation concessions dishonestly. 

Edy added that she had not been straightforward during the trial and mobilized mobs for the purpose of disturbing the proceedings. “She has been legally and convincingly proven to have engaged in corruption,” Edy said. Gusrizal, who heads the panel of judges hearing the case, said the court would resume on Monday to hear the defense plea. Hartati, speaking after the hearing, called the prosecutor’s recommendation unrealistic. “It is unrealistic and based only on their own charges. It should be based on the facts presented in court,” she said. “People can judge for themselves.” 

Hartati’s lawyer, Patra M. Zen, said he was confident the judges would be more objective in their verdict. “The recommendation is within the authority of the prosecutors but the verdict is in the hands of the panel of judges,” Patra said. “They [the judges] are not blind and can see that not a single witness, as shown in the trial records, said that Hartati handed over the money. “The one who handed the money was Gondo.” Patra was referring to Gondo Sidjono, the operations director of Hardaya Inti Plantation. 

The KPK has also named Amran, Gondo and Hardaya Inti Plantation general manager Yani Anshori as suspects in the case. Prosecutors are seeking a 12-year prison term for Amran for accepting a Rp 3 billion bribe from Hartati. Amran allegedly received the money in two installments. There was for the sum of Rp 1 billion on June 18, 2012, and a second for Rp 2 billion, on June 26, 2012.

source : the jakarta globe