Joko Tjandra Charged For 4 Years, ICW: Prosecutor Puts Away His Role Of Bribery Of Law Enforcement Officials

Joko Tjandra (DOK. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Kurnia Ramadhana highlighted the prosecutor who only demanded Joko Tjandra to be sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of Rp. 100 million, a subsidiary of 6 months in prison.

ICW is of the opinion that these demands have not been maximal and ignore Joko Tjandra's role as a bribe for law enforcement officials in the processing of Supreme Court fatwas.

"The prosecutor's demands on Joko S Tjandra are still not maximal and tend to deny the defendant's central role in the crimes he committed," said Kurnia in his written statement, Friday, March 5.

He assessed that the public prosecutor is actually very likely to sue Joko up to five years in prison and a fine of Rp. 250 million. This should have been done because Joko had paid bribes to law enforcers.

Apart from that, Joko has also been convicted in other cases and this should be a weight loss. So that it is appropriate for the prosecutor to punish him with maximum demands.

"Not only that, Joko S Tjandra's actions have tarnished law enforcement institutions by bribing prosecutors and high-ranking police officers. However, it seems that this has not been used as a basis for weighing down the charges," he said.

Kurnia also mentioned that the convictions of the bribes did not provide ideal punishment for the perpetrators. This, continued Kurnia, is certainly not appropriate with the actions taken by Joko Tjandra, who according to him should be given a life sentence.

So, Kurnia asked the judge who made the decision to put aside the demands submitted by the prosecutor and punish Joko to the maximum according to his actions. "Then, regarding the development of the case, ICW urges the KPK to carry out an investigation to explore the roles of other parties involved in the case of Joko S Tjandra," he said.

"Until now, ICW still believes that there are several people who are members of the political, law enforcement and private clusters who have not been charged by law enforcers," added this anti-corruption activist.

Previously reported, the public prosecutor charged Joko Tjandra with a prison sentence of four years. In addition, Joko Tjandra was also required to pay a fine of Rp. 100 million, a subsidiary of 6 months in prison.

This lawsuit was filed against the bribery case that charged him with dealing with the fatwa of the Supreme Court through the Attorney General's Office and the case for removing red notices.

In addition, the prosecutor also asked the judge to reject the justice collaborator submitted by Joko. The reason is that this application must be rejected in accordance with the Circular Letter of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia No. 4/2011 dated 10 August 2011 concerning the Treatment of Whistleblowers and Collaborating Witnesses (Justice Collaborators) in Certain Criminal Cases.

Joko Tjandra has already given money of 500 thousand United States (US) dollars to prosecutor Pinangki Sirna Malasari through his brother-in-law, Herriyadi Angga Kusuma, and Andi Irfan Jaya.

The money was given as a down payment for plans to administer the law he was facing in the form of an MA fatwa through the Attorney General's Office.

Meanwhile, in the case of removing red notice, Joko Tjandra is believed to be guilty of giving money to Brigadier General Prasetijo Utomo and Inspector General Napoleon Bonaparte.

Brigadier General Prasetijo was given 100 thousand US dollars. Meanwhile, Inspector General Napoleon was given 200 thousand and 370 thousand US dollars. The money was distributed through businessman Tommy Sumardi. Based on these facts, Joko Tjandra was declared the main perpetrator as the bribe giver.