Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – The Anti-Corruption Study Center (PUKAT) at Gadjah Mada University revealed on Monday that Indonesia has lost Rp 3.3 trillion (US$289.88 million) due to corrupt practices in the first seven months of 2013.
"We also recorded that the Corruption Court has been handing down light sentences," PUKAT executive director Hasrul Halili said when releasing the January-July 2013 Trend Corruption Report (TCR) at PUKAT's office on Monday.
He also deplored the 10-year prison sentence handed down to Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo in a driving simulator procurement case that caused Rp 32 billion in state losses.
Based on PUKAT research, there were 42 corruption verdicts from January to July with 18 defendants receiving under-three-year prison terms, while only five defendants were sentenced to more than 10 years.
The study found that nine defendants were sentenced to between three years and five years' in prison while another 10 defendants received between five years and 10 years behind bars. "The Judicial Commission should be serious when monitoring judges who are assigned to the Corruption Court." Hasrul said.
PUKAT researcher Fariz Fachryan said the TCR was formulated based on corruption news in both the national and local media. In the seven-month period, there were 88 corruption cases involving 143 defendants.
"The most corrupt actors were regional administration officials with 39 defendants, followed by the private sector with 36 defendants and central government officials at 16," he said.
Corrupt sectors have increased from the eight recorded in the July-December 2012 TCR to 17. The most corrupt sector was sports, education and religious with 17 cases; procurement of goods and services with 12 cases; while there were 10 cases in state and regional income sectors as well as agriculture, plantation, fishery and forestry sectors.
Fariz said there were five modes of corruption: causing losses to state finance or power abuse, bribery, embezzlement, gratification and extortion.
Causing losses to state finance or power abuse was the most used mode with 70 cases, followed by bribery in a distant second with 12 cases. "There were two cases each for embezzlement, gratification and extortion," said Fariz.
Another PUKAT researcher, Hifdzil Alim, said there were three strategic corruption cases: the Hambalang sports center in West Java; cases at the Supreme Court (MA), such as the arrest of lawyer Mario C. Bernado and the acquittal of the former president director of PT Bahana Pembinaan Usaha Indonesia (BPUI) Sudjiono Timan; and former Bantul regent Idham Samawi, who has been named a suspect in a case involving a Rp 12.5 billion grant for the Bantul branch of the Indonesian Sports Committee (KONI).
"These cases are strategic because the state losses were above Rp 1 billion, conducted by state officials and consumed the public interests," Hifdzil said. He added that Idham was also included due to PUKAT's proximity to the crime scene.
Meanwhile, former justice Sahlan Said said the MA's decision to acquit Sudjiono in a Rp 2.1 trillion case was unacceptable. The decision was made after Sudjiono's wife filed a case review as Sudjiono's inheritor.
"Sudjiono's wife is not an inheritor because he is still alive. Based on Criminal Code Procedures, the term inheritor is only applicable when Sudjiono is dead," Sahlan said. Only a convict or his or her inheritor can file a case review.