Rizky Amelia – Graft convicts who are cooperative in helping to uncover corruption cases are now eligible for a sentence reduction, Deputy Minister of Justice and Human Rights Denny Indrayana said on Wednesday.
Denny said that a revision of a 2006 government regulation on the matter was issued on Dec. 12 to include the new provision.
"Based on this government regulation, corruption convicts can get sentence cuts if they are willing to cooperate with law enforcers to uncover the crime they perpetrated," Denny said at his office.
The willingness of the convict should be also recorded in writing and the individuals should have already paid any fines or compensation ordered by the anti-corruption court, he said.
The ministry has been under criticism for continuing to hand out sentence cuts to corruptors and drug addicts despite a government regulation temporarily suspending such moves in an effort to deter corruption and drug violations.
Meanwhile, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is proposing that the restriction on sentence cuts for corruption and drug convicts be contained in an official law.
"There is a need for a change of regulations at the law levels in relation to the restrictions on sentence cuts. For example, it could be included in the anti-corruption law that is currently being revised," KPK spokesman Johan Budi said.
Speaking at a discussion at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, Johan said that the government regulation issued on Dec. 12 was not enough to govern the issue of sentence cuts. He added that corruption is an extraordinary crime requiring higher legislation.
"I think that the regulation that has been issued by the government on the matter is not enough," Johan said. He also said that such a law should also offer more details on the provision of legal compensation for justice collaborators and the procedure for issuing them.
He suggested that there should be a 2 percent incentive of the value of state assets saved to encourage people to report corruption cases. "So that more people report, meaning making more accurate reporting too," Johan said.