Former Mayor Of Lhokseumawe Suaidi Yahya Was Sentenced To 6 Years In Prison For Corruption In Arun Hospital

The panel of judges read out the verdict of the corruption case with the defendant Suadi Yahya, the former Mayor of Lhokseumawe, at the Corruption Court/DOK ANTARA

The panel of judges at the Corruption Court at the Banda Aceh District Court sentenced former Lhokseumawe Mayor Suaidi Yahya to six years in prison for being found guilty of committing a criminal act of corruption in the management of the Arun Hospital. The verdict was read out by the panel of judges chaired by R Hendral at the trial at the Corruption Court at the Banda Aceh District Court in Banda Aceh, Antara, Wednesday, January 17. At the trial, the defendant Suadi Yahya attended virtually from the bed at his house because he was sick. The defendant Suadi Yahya is the Mayor of Lhokseumawe for two terms, namely 2012-2017 and 2017-2022. In addition to a six-year prison sentence, the panel of judges also sentenced the defendant Suaidi Yahya to pay a fine of Rp. 300 million, a subsidiary of three years in prison, and to pay state losses of Rp. 7 billion, if not paid, he was sentenced to three years in prison. The panel of judges stated that the defendant Suaidi Yahya was legally and convincingly proven guilty of violating Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 Paragraph (1) of Law Number 31 of 1999 which was changed to Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning the eradication of criminal acts of corruption in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph (1) of the 1st Criminal Code. Based on the facts of the trial, the panel of judges assessed that the defendant Suadi Yahya as the Mayor of Lhokseumawe abused his authority in managing the Arun Hospital in the 2016-2022 period. The hospital is a grant from PT Arun to the Lhokseumawe City Government. "The management of the hospital should have been managed by the Lhokseumawe City Government through a technical implementing unit, not forming a company to manage it. As a result of the defendant's policy, it has caused state financial losses," said the panel of judges. The panel of judges disagreed with state losses, such as the demands of the public prosecutor Rp44.9 billion. This is because of the state losses, there are several points that are the right to be recipients, such as medical expenses for directors, employee holiday allowances, and others. "The money is used for various hospital needs, so it is seen as hospital expenditure. However, there are others that are illegal payments, so it should be declared a state loss," said the panel of judges. Before deciding the sentence, the panel of judges considered aggravating and mitigating matters. Aggravating things, the defendant did not support the government's efforts to eradicate corruption. As for mitigating matters, the defendant has not been convicted. "On this decision, we give the public prosecutor and the defendant and legal adviser a time of seven days, whether to accept or file an appeal," said the panel of judges.

The verdict of the panel of judges was lighter than the demands of the public prosecutor. At the previous trial, public prosecutor Uli Herman and his friends charged the defendant Suaidi Yahya with eight years in prison and a fine of Rp. 500 million, subsidiary to six months in prison.