The Attorney General Affirms The Need To Review The Phrase 'Repeat Of Crime'

Attorney General ST Burhanuddin/PHOTO VIA ANTARA

JAKARTA - Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin said lawmakers and law enforcement officers needed to review the phrase "repetition of criminal acts", especially regarding Article 2 paragraph (2) of the Law on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption.

"This is our endeavor. The prosecutor's office is trying to eradicate corruption by progressively expanding the notion of repeating criminal acts in criminal law," said Burhanuddin.

He delivered this statement in a public lecture entitled Effectiveness of Legal and Economic Handling in the Mega-Corruption Case: The Jiwasraya Case Study which was broadcast on the YouTube channel of Atma Jaya Indonesian Catholic University, Wednesday, January 26.

Article 2 paragraph (2) of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption as amended by Law no. 20 of 2001 states that one of the certain conditions that can become a criminal offense for perpetrators of criminal acts of corruption is if the perpetrators repeat the crime of corruption.

On the other hand, in the Criminal Code (KUHP), a person can be categorized as repeating a crime if he commits a criminal act again after returning to society after serving a criminal sentence that was previously sentenced by a judge's decision.

"It is a recidivist in the Criminal Code. However, what is currently developing is what about corruption cases that are only revealed when the person concerned has the status of a convict?" he said, quoted by Antara.

Burhanuddin gave an example of the Jiwasraya and Asabri cases involving Heru Hidayat. The panel of judges has declared Heru Hidayat guilty and is serving a life sentence for the Jiwasraya case. However, when the Asabri case was revealed, Heru Hidayat again became an important figure in the case.

"The prosecutor's office took a legal breakthrough here by charging the defendant with the death penalty," he said.

However, the panel of judges imposed the main criminal sanction in the form of a null verdict. In fact, said Burhanuddin, the losses borne by the state as a result of the Asabri case reached Rp22 trillion.

Therefore, the Attorney General is of the opinion that the discussion on the phrase "repetition of a crime" is very important. Expanding the definition of the phrase "repetition of the crime" could allow the prosecution to use it as a criminal offense and result in the imposition of the death penalty.