IO, Jakarta – Disgraced former Vice Chairman of the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat – “DPR”) Taufik Kurniawan has been sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rp 200 million, minus 4 months’ arrest in a bribery case. The Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi – “KPK”) hopes that Taufik’s conviction will serve as a lesson to other members of the Legislature.
Taufik was declared guilty of having received monies relating to the administration of Special Allocation Funds (Dana Alokasi Khusus – “DAK”) for the Regencies of Kebumen and Purbalingga. The total amount of bribery relating to the administration of DAK in the Regency of Kebumen, originating from the amendment to the 2016 State Budget, was Rp 3.65 billion, while the same type of bribery for the Regency of Purbalingga, originating from the amendment to the 2017 State Budget, was Rp 1.2 billion. “We hope that the case can also serve as a lesson to other members of the Legislature, and to regional heads and other officials elected by the people in order not to perpetrate corruption,” said the Head of KPK’s Bureau of Public Relations Febri Diansyah to the press on Monday (15/07/2019).
Other than imprisonment and fines, Taufik’s political rights are also revoked for 3 years and he must also pay Rp 4.24 billion in damages. Febri stated that the KPK respects the sentence passed by the judge, even though it is lower than demanded by the prosecutor. “An important point is the granting of the sentence to revoke the convict’s political rights, even though instead of our request of 5 years, they only granted 3 years. KPK hopes that the additional punishment of the revocation of political rights can be implemented consistently, especially in cases of corruption perpetrated by politicians,” he said.
Furthermore, he stated that the case is an example of a small-value sting operation (operasi tangkap tangan – “OTT”) that snared a number of related perpetrators. Through the OTT performed in Kebumen in 2016, KPK has also discovered signs of corporate money laundering. “This is just one example of how KPK frequently got wind of and resolved cases involving large-scale actors and huge amounts of bribes or gratification by following up on seemingly smalltime OTTs,” he said.
KPK further stated that it would consider the sentence given by the panel of judges against Taufik. Later on, the Public Prosecutor will discuss the sentence with them before they officially declare whether to petition for an appeal or not. “We at the KPK are still considering the decision,” Febri said. (dsy)