Proven Bribery Of Ministry Of Finance Officials, Former Tabanan Regent Eka Wiryastuti Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison

The defendant was the former Regent of Tabanan for the 2010-2015 and 2016-2021 periods, Ni Putu Eka Wiryastuti/ANTARA FOTO/Fikri Yusuf/foc.

DENPASAR - The panel of judges at the Corruption Court in Denpasar, Bali, sentenced the regent of Tabanan for the 2016–2021 period, Eka Wiryastuti, to 2 years in prison and a fine of Rp. 50 million, subsidiary to 1 month in prison. Eeka was found guilty of bribing two former officials from the Ministry of Finance.

The bribe was given by Eka through an intermediary, namely former staff especially I Dewa Nyoman Wiratmaja, to Yaya Purnomo and Rifa Surya in the hope that both of them can help take care of the addition of the Regional Incentive Fund (DID) allocation for Tabanan Regency for the 2018 Fiscal Year.

The panel of judges, led by I Nyoman Wiguna stated that Eka Wiryastuti was proven guilty of violating Article 5 paragraph (1) letter b of the Law on the Eradication of Corruption Crimes in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the 1st Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 64 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code.

However, the sentence given by the Denpasar Corruption Court was lighter than the prosecutor's demands.

The KPK prosecutor at the previous trial demanded the panel of judges to impose a 4-year prison sentence and a Rp110 million fine or replace the 3-month confinement. The public prosecutor also asked the panel of judges to revoke Eka's political rights for 5 years since he finished serving his sentence in prison.

However, the panel of judges decided to impose a lighter sentence, due to several considerations, one of which was that the bribe was not given for Eka's personal interests.

"The purpose of administering the DID is for the welfare of the people of Tabanan Regency in general, and in particular to facilitate budget performance in the defendant's government," said the panel of judges when reading the verdict.

According to the panel of judges, Eka's actions could not be separated from the presence of two former officials from the Ministry of Finance, namely Yaya Purnomo and Rifa Surya, who promised that they would be able to regulate the addition of the Tabanan Regency DID allocation.

The total value of the bribes that Dewa gave to Yaya and Rifa on Eka Wiryastuti's orders at that time was Rp600 million and US$55,300 or Rp1.4 billion.

Yaya Purnomo during the Tabanan DID management case served as Head of the Section for the Development of Funding for Housing and Settlement Areas of the Ministry of Finance, while Rifa Surya at that time served as Head of the Section for Special Physical Allocation Funds II of the Ministry of Finance.

Meanwhile, regarding the revocation of political rights, the panel of judges rejected the KPK prosecutor's request.

"In the indictment, the prosecutor (public prosecutor) did not include Article 18 paragraph (1) letter D of the Corruption Crime Law which regulates additional penalties," said the panel of judges.

That way, Eka Wiryastuti still has the right to nominate himself to be elected as a public official, for example, in regional head elections.