Indonesia Attorney General to Review the Implementation of the Death Penalty for Corruptors

Indonesian Attorney General, ST Burhanuddin highlighted the state's financial losses in the mega-corruption case of PT Asuransi Sosial Angkatan Bersenjata (ASABRI) and Jiwasraya case, which have a fantastic value of trillions of rupiah. Because of that, Burhanuddin said that he would review the implementation of the death penalty for corruptors.

"The Attorney General is reviewing the possibility of applying the death penalty in order to provide a sense of justice in the prosecution of the case, of course, its application must still pay attention to the applicable positive law and human rights values," said the head of the Legal Information Center (Kapuspenkum) at the Attorney General's Office, Leonard Eben Ezer Simanjuntak, Thursday (28/10/2021), as quoted from Detik.

Based on Article 2 Paragraph 2 of Law no. 31 of 1999 jo. Law no. 20 of 2001, an act of enriching oneself that is against the law, resulting in state losses, in certain circumstances, death penalty can be imposed.

Leonard explained that Burhanuddin is currently working to ensure that the proceeds from the seized assets of two mega-corruption cases can be useful for the affected victims, especially at PT ASABRI as it is a state-owned enterprise that manages soldiers pension fund. 

Attorney General of the Republic of Indonesia Dr. ST. Burhanuddin, S.H., M.H. (Photo: Attorney General's Office)

Furthermore, the Attorney General is also working to ensure that there will be certainty and the seized assets can directly benefit the government and the people affected by the crime of corruption.

In ASABRI corruption scandal, currently there are 8 defendants whose cases have entered the court. Prosecutors said the defendants had received gifts (bribes) from companies collaborating with PT ASABRI. The defendants are also  accused to be benefiting and enriching themselves. 

The following are the defendants of ASABRI:

1. ARD, President Director of PT ASABRI for the period 2011 to March 2016
2. Lt. Gen. Retired SW as President Director of PT ASABRI for the 2016-2020 period
3. HS as Director of Investment and Finance of PT ASABRI for the period 2013-2019
4. BE former Head of ASABRI's Finance and Investment Division
5. LP as President Director of PT Prima Network
6. HH as President of PT Trada Alam Minera
7. BT as Commissioner of PT Hanson International Tbk
8. JS as Director of PT Jakarta Emiten Investor Relations

The defendants were accused by the prosecutor of violating Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law No. 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption as amended by Law no. 20 of 2001.

Specifically for HH, BT, and JS, they were also charged with money laundering. The three were also accused by the prosecutor of violating Article 3 or Article 4 of the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 8 of 2010 concerning the Prevention and Eradication of the Crime of Money Laundering.

Until 2021, the death penalty has never been imposed in a corruption case that was tried using Law no. 31/1999 jo. Law no. 21/2001. 

So far, the heaviest crimes ever imposed in corruption cases are life imprisonment for AM corruption case, the former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, and  6 people in the Jiwasraya corruption case (HR, HP, JHT, SY, BT, and HH).

Corruption in the management of finance and investment funds by PT. ASABRI (Persero) in several companies for the period 2012 to 2019 caused the state to lose approximately Rp 22.78 trillion.