Andi Hajramuni, Makassar – Hundreds of East Timorese refugees who hail from South Sulawesi sealed off the province' high court on Wednesday to vent their frustration over the court's verdict in an embezzlement case.

The refugees, who are from Pangkajene Islands regency, smashed three windows of the high court building and prevented court officials and employees from entering the building. They have protesting at the court since Monday to draw attention to what they regard as an unjust verdict.

Last week, the South Sulawesi High Court found the director of the Pangkajene Islands Social Affairs Agency, Bisman, guilty of embezzling Rp 128 million (US$13,700) our of Rp 500 million intended for the refugees, and sent him to jail for 15 months.

The sentence was much more lenient that handed down in February by the Pangkajene Islands District Court, which sent Bisman to jail for 5 years, and ordered him to return the embezzled funds or face an additional one year in jail.

The district court also ordered Bisman to pay a fine of Rp 250 million, or face another six months in jail as well as the confiscation of his assets.

The refugees became violent after failing to meet Supreme Court chief Bagir Manan, who was rumored to be on a stopover at Makassar's Hasanuddin airport. It turned out to be that Bagir had not actually made a stopover at the airport.

Meanwhile, South Sulawesi High Court Deputy President Dalil Achmad said it was impossible to vary the sentence unless the South Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office appealed to the Supreme Court.