Chairman Of The Assembly Infected With COVID-19, Azis Syamsuddin's Verdict Session Postponed

JAKARTA - The reading of the verdict against former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Muhammad Azis Syamsuddin has been postponed. The reason is that the chairman of the panel of judges was exposed to COVID-19.

"Our plan is today (the verdict). However, the chairman of the assembly returns to Makassar, there he is exposed. So he is sick, I have just confirmed that ad hoc judge Pak Zaini Bashir has also been sick for 2 days, it seems he has been exposed to COVID-19, "said panel of judges member Fazhal Hendri at the Jakarta Corruption Court (Tipikor), Monday, February 14, quoted from Antara.

The chairman of the panel of judges in the Azis case is Muhammad Damis who is also the Chairman of the Central Jakarta District Court (PN).

"Therefore, I am informed and to convey to the public prosecutor (JPU) and his legal adviser (PH) that the chairman of the panel of judges and the chairman of the PN Muhammad Damis so that this trial is postponed to Thursday, 17 (February), yes, it's easy. I hope you can walk. Everyone is healthy, I hope," said Judge Fazhal.

According to Fazhal, the chairman of the assembly has also been in self-isolation.

"If the chairman of the assembly is healthy, Mr. Damis' isolation period is over, all you have to do is fly here. So, the defendants, the prosecutors and PH, take care of your health, sir, hopefully no one gets sick," said judge Fazhal.

Regarding the delay, Azis Syamsuddin did not have much of an opinion.

"Happy Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day," said Azis shortly after the trial.

The verdict reading is scheduled for Thursday, February 17, 2022.

In this case, Azis Syamsuddin was demanded to be sentenced to 4 years and 2 months in prison plus a fine of Rp. 250 million, subsidiary to 6 months in prison because he was deemed proven to have given bribes of Rp. 3,099 billion and US$ 36 thousand, bringing the total to around Rp. 3,619 billion to former KPK investigator Stepanus Robin Pattuju and Maskur Husain advocate.

Initially, the KPK investigated allegations of corruption in the form of receiving gifts or promises related to the management of the special allocation funds (DAK) of the Central Lampung Regency APBN-P 2017 Fiscal Year since October 8, 2019. It was suspected that Azis and Aliza Gunado were involved as bribe recipients.

Azis tried to prevent himself and Aliza Gunado from being suspects by the KPK by seeking help from KPK investigators and being introduced to Stepanus Robin, who has been a KPK investigator since August 15, 2019 from the National Police.

Stepanus Robin and Maskur Husain expressed their willingness to help in exchange for a sum of IDR 4 billion with a calculation of IDR 2 billion each from Azis and Aliza Gunado with an down payment of IDR 300 million and Azis agreed.

Azis gave the advance payment to Stepanus Robin and Maskur Husain, with the distribution of Stepanus Robin receiving Rp. 100 million and Maskur Husain receiving Rp. 200 million. The money was transferred from Azis' BCA account in four stages, amounting to Rp50 million each, on 2, 3, 4, and 5 August 2020.

On August 5, 2020, Azis again gave $100,000 in cash to Stepanus Robin at Azis' official residence, Jalan Denpasar Raya, South Jakarta.

In addition to these gifts from August 2020 to March 2021, Azis also gave money to Stepanus Robin and Maskur Husain several times, the total amount being 171,900 Singapore dollars.

The total bribes given by Azis Syamsuddin to Stepanus Robin Pattuju and Maskur Husain were IDR 3,099,887,000.00 and USD 36,000, respectively.