Agus Bentung Is Still Sentenced To 10 Years, Lawyers Advance To Cassation To The Supreme Court

Defendant with tunability I Wayan Agus Suartama alias Agus Bentung at the Mataram District Court, NTB, Tuesday (27/5/2025). (ANTARA/Dhimas B.P.)

MATARAM - Lawyer for the disabled person I Wayan Agus Suartama alias Agus Bentung stated that the West Nusa Tenggara High Court's appeal decision was wrong.

The appeal decision is also considered detrimental to the legal rights of his client, especially in the context of protecting persons with disabilities in the criminal justice system.

"As is known, the defendant Agus was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of Rp. 100 million. Unfortunately, in the decision of the high court, there was no correction or re-discussion of legal considerations at the first level, even though there were many legal objections that we had submitted in the memorandum of appeal," said Dr. Ainuddin, Agus' lawyer reported by ANTARA, Friday, July 18.

Therefore, Agus' legal advisory team in the sexual harassment case will file an appeal to the Supreme Court, as stipulated in Article 244 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

"We submit this appeal on the basis of Article 244 of the Criminal Procedure Code, that the cassation can be submitted against a high court decision unless the verdict is free or released," he said.

Another basis refers to Article 253 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code which states that the Supreme Court has the right to assess whether there are errors in implementing the law, a trial procedure that is not in accordance with the law, and an excess of authority by the court.

The reason for filing this cassation, he explained, is limited and focuses on implementing the law against defendants with disabilities.

According to him, the panel of judges has ignored the principles of protection for persons with disabilities as stipulated in Law no. 8 of 2016, and did not apply the principle of non-discrimination and special legal needs for the defendant.

"The panel of judges does not consider the special conditions of the defendant as a person with disabilities. Whereas logically and juridically, this is relevant to assess the elements of the act in the indictment," he said.

Furthermore, the second point regarding the appeal decision is only to repeat the verdict of the first court without reviewing or considering the defense arguments we have submitted in the memorandum of appeal.

Third, assessing that the appeal decision only relies on the testimony of one victim witness without the support of other corroborating evidence, while no post-mortem has been found that proves physical violence or independent witnesses.

It was also stated that the defendant molested more than one person, even though the indictment and the evidentiary process only discussed one victim. This is contrary to the principle of clearness of offenses in criminal law.

"We submit this appeal as a form of final legal effort so that the Supreme Court can correct mistakes in the application of the law at the previous level, and restore the principle of justice that respects the rights of every citizen, including those with disabilities," he said.

Ainuddin also conveyed his legal views, a fair decision not only sided with the victim, but also the one who thoroughly examined the truth of the law based on evidence, logic, and a sense of justice.

The NTB High Court in the appeal decision of Agus Bentung on July 16, 2025, which is registered with the number: 146/PID.SUS/2025/PT MTR stated that it accepted the appeal request of the defendant and the public prosecutor.

The appeal panel of judges also upheld the decision of the Mataram District Court number: 23/Pid.Sus/2025/PN Mtr dated 27 May 2025 which was requested to appeal the parties. It was also stated that the defendant should remain in custody.

In the first instance court decision, the defendant Agus was sentenced to 10 years in prison with a fine of Rp. 100 million, subsidiary to 3 months in prison.

The panel of judges handed down the verdict by stating that the defendant had been proven guilty of committing the crime of sexual abuse more than once to several victims in accordance with the prosecutor's demands.

By stating this, the judge determined that the defendant's actions had violated the primary indictment of the public prosecutor, namely Article 6 letter c in conjunction with Article 15 of the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 12 of 2022 concerning the Crime of Sexual Violence.

Previously, the public prosecutor demanded that the panel of judges impose a verdict against Agus Bentung with a sentence of 12 years and a fine of Rp. 100 million, subsidiary to 3 months in prison.