3 Kades in Kediri Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Selling and Buying Positions, Paying Replacement Money Billions

JAKARTA - The Surabaya Corruption Court panel of judges has sentenced three village heads in Kediri Regency, East Java, to prison sentences of five to seven years for corruption in the sale and purchase of village apparatus positions.

The panel of judges headed by I Made Yuliada stated that the three defendants, namely the Head of Mangunrejo Village, Ngadiluwih District, Sutrisno; Head of Kalirong Village, Tarokan District, Imam Jamiin; and Head of Pojok Village, Wates District, Darwanto were proven to have violated the provisions of the corruption crime.

"The defendant as a state organizer was proven to have participated in receiving the gifts or promises intended to influence actions in his position," said the panel of judges in the reading of the verdict at the Surabaya Corruption Court, reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, May 5.

In the ruling, the judge sentenced the defendants to different sentences. Sutrisno was sentenced to the heaviest sentence of 7 years in prison accompanied by a fine of Rp. 350 million and the obligation to pay compensation in the amount of Rp. 6.4 billion.

Meanwhile, Darwanto was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison with a fine of Rp. 300 million and an obligation to pay compensation of Rp. 178 million.

Meanwhile, Imam Jamiin was also sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison with a fine of Rp. 300 million and an obligation to pay compensation of Rp. 638 million.

The panel of judges in its consideration stated that Sutrisno had obtained a large profit from the practice, which amounted to around IDR 12 billion, although some of the funds were said to have flowed to a number of other parties.

For information, this case began with the practice of engineering the recruitment of village devices en masse in 2023 in Kediri Regency, namely the defendants used their authority to arrange the participants' graduation in exchange for money.

During the trial, it was also revealed that the defendants played an active role in collecting funds from prospective village cadres with the promise of graduation, which was carried out systematically in the selection process.