"If you want to borrow some too, I have some [money] here," Gayus Tambunan, a defendant in a tax corruption mega-case told the judge during a hearing last week at South Jakarta District Court last week.

The audience laughed, but how could Gayus, who is facing life imprisonment, be so bold?

In his testimony at the trial of another graft defendant, businessman Andi Kosasih, Gayus told the court he had lent Rp 2 billion (US$224,000) to Kosasih to bribe law enforcement officials. In front of the judge, Gayus reminded Kosasih to repay his debt. The former low-level tax official made the joke when the judge asked why it was so easy for Gayus to lend money to other people.

Throughout the world, court hearings are often marked by light moments when defendants, prosecutors, defense attorneys and even judges make amusing remarks. Sometimes judges must pound their gavels to return order to the court.

Sometimes they don't mean to be funny. Indonesians had a roaring time during the cross examination of the former chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Antasari Azhar, who was eventually convicted for murder.

The judges probed into the details of his alleged sexual encounter with one of the witnesses; and while the questions were hilarious, they also raised suspicion on where the trial was heading, and its impact on the national fight against corruption.

Whether the various graft trials currently in progress will help Indonesia in this war is on everyone's mind. Gayus' joke was among many disheartening signs.

What was he thinking? If we knew the real reason it would more likely make us sick. Many Indonesians have been impressed with Gayus because he has been very open in discussing the bribes he has received, including huge sums from a company owned by a famous conglomerate. Gayus fearlessly told the court how he distributed those bribes to several police generals and to his superior at the Taxation Directorate.

Facing life imprisonment, has Gayus repented for his evil acts against taxpayers? Is he ready to suffer a harsh sentence?

According to recent reports, Gayus has every reason to be relaxed. Many officials – be they judges, police generals or prosecutors – have allegedly enjoyed the money Gayus extorted from taxpayers.

Indonesia's judicial system is often a source of trauma for poor justice seekers. Petty crimes are severely punished, such as in the recent case of the theft of cacao fruits.

But high-class bandits and the robbers of state coffers need not worry, as long as they can bribe those assigned by the state to ensure the supremacy of the law. Justice is all about money – that is a common complaint voiced by many Indonesians. Law enforcement officials are hard pressed to deny it.

Gayus' joke is a strong reflection of how disrespectful our judiciary system is. Gayus and other mega-corruptors and power abusers must have laughed about the trial, knowing full well how money and power can ensure what they want from the law enforcement.

So far the KPK and the Corruption Court still have public respect because no single person accused of corruption has been acquitted by the court. But what about those at the level of the district or provincial courts or the Supreme Court? Are the police and prosecutors any cleaner? Gayus laughs, and he is not alone.