6 years in prison for Wa Ode Nurhayati

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Thu, October 18 2012, 9:11 PM

The Jakarta Corruption Court has sentenced Wa Ode Nurhayati, a former member of the House of Representatives budgetary committee, to six years in prison for bribery and money laundering.

Presiding judge Suhartoyo said during the verdict hearing on Friday that Nurhayati violated the the 1999 Corruption Law Article 12 on bribery by accepting Rp 6.25 billion (US$650,000) in bribes from three businessmen, Fadh El Fouz, Saul Paulus David Nelwan and Abram Noach Mambu, to secure Regional Infrastructure Adjustment Funds (DPID).

“The defendant is proven guilty of corruption,” he said, as quoted by kompas.com.

The judges also found her guilty of money laundering, as stipulated under the Corruption Law No. 3/1999.

The judges based their verdict on the fact that Nurhayati’s bank account suddenly swelled to Rp 50.5 billion from October 2010 to September 2011, a surge that was peculiar given her occupation as a lawmaker. Since she was inaugurated as a lawmaker in 2009-2011, Nurhayati has only accepted Rp 1.6 billion in salaries, according to the judges.

Nurhayati then tried to conceal the origin behind the money by transferring it to several parties and using the money for personal use, the judges continued.

The defendant also failed to report the money on state officials’ wealth disclosure forms (LHKPN) to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Besides the six-year jail term, Nurhayati is also obliged to pay Rp 500 million in fines, which can be replaced with six months in prison.

The sentence is lower than the 14-year sentence sought by prosecutors. (han/swd)