Former Indonesian minister jailed for 12 years in COVID-19 graft case
Indonesia's Social Affairs Minister Juliari Batubara walks as he arrives at Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, December 6, 2020 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Hafidz Mubarak/ via REUTERS
JAKARTA: Indonesia's former social affairs minister was jailed for 12 years on Monday (Aug 23) for taking up to US$1.2 million in bribes linked to food aid for poor families hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Jakarta court handed out the sentence to Juliari Batubara following his December arrest. A sting operation had turned up more than US$1 million in cash stuffed into suitcases, backpacks and envelopes.
"The court sentences the defendant to 12 years in prison and orders him to pay 500 million rupiah (US$35,000) in fines or serve six more months in prison," presiding judge Muhammad Damis told the hearing, which was held virtually for virus safety reasons.
The former politician was also ordered to pay the equivalent of about US$1 million in restitution, or face an additional two years in prison, the court said.
Juliari, who has denied wrongdoing, will also be banned from public office for four years after serving his prison term.
His lawyer Maqdir Ismail described the sentence, which was one year longer than investigators had demanded, as too harsh and said they were considering whether to appeal.
Batubara would take cash from two contractors hired to supply basic food packages for Indonesians hit hard by the health crisis, the court heard earlier.
President Joko Widodo vowed not to protect corrupt officials in the wake of Batubara's arrest and described the stolen funds as "the people's money".
Graft remains a big problem in Indonesia, where politicians are widely seen as among the most corrupt.
The country's anti-corruption agency has arrested scores of public officials in recent years, including former fisheries minister Edhy Prabowo who last month was jailed for five years in a graft case linked to baby lobster exports.
The Southeast Asian nation is among countries worst hit by COVID-19, with nearly 4 million confirmed infections and more than 126,000 deaths, although the official tally is widely thought to be a severe undercount due to low testing and patchy data collection.
