Angelina Sondakh Sentencing Flawed, Law Expert Argues
Angelina Sondakh leaving the KPK offices in Jakarta on Monday, September 2, 2013. (JG Photo/Afriadi Hikmal)
The Supreme Court's decision to sentence disgraced lawmaker Angelina Sondakh to an additional seven and a half years on Thursday was a flawed legal decision, an expert says.
"The Supreme Court has wrongly interpreted Article 17 of the Anti-Corruption Law, which states that a longer sentence only applies for a case in which the state has incurred losses, and in Angie's case that's not what happened," Indriyanto Seno Adji, a criminal law expert from the University of Indonesia, said on Tuesday.
He added that handing Angelina a longer sentence would not serve a deterrent effect against other corrupt officials.
"Studies have found that longer prison sentences don't have much of an effect on the crime rate. Rates remain high despite this. It's better to prioritize prevention," Indriyanto said.
Noted lawyer Frans Winarta shared a different view, saying that the longer sentence for Angelina should not come as a surprise as the typical sentence for corruption cases was at least 10 years.
"Confiscating the perpetrator's assets is important to create a deterrent effect, and the decision made by the Supreme Court should set a good example," he said.
Frans also said he supported longer sentences for defendants who claimed to be innocent but were proven guilty, compared to those who admitted their guilt from the outset of their case.
Defendants who did not show any remorse or who have challenged the court to prove their guilt should be given longer sentences, he added.
The Supreme Court sentenced Angelina to 12 years in prison on Thursday, nearly tripling the four and a half years that she was handed by the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court and matching prosecutors' initial demand following an appeal from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). She was also ordered to return $3.42 million in purloined funds on top of a fine of Rp 500 million ($42,800).
The longer sentence has been hailed as a sign of the nation's renewed commitment to combatting corruption by the KPK. The antigraft body has increasingly targeted prominent public officials in the past year, bringing cases against top brass at the National Police and several ranking members of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.
The KPK's case against Angelina, a former Democrat legislator, was one of many in a still-unfolding investigation into allegations of corruption in the ruling party.
Angelina's tougher sentence should serve as a lesson to Indonesia's corrupt politicians, KPK deputy chief Bambang Widjojanto said.
Indonesia Corruption Watch said Angelina deserved a harsher sentence than the four and a half years handed down by the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court and upheld by the Jakarta High Court. As a legislator, she violated the public's trust, a crime that demanded a serious penalty, said Ade Irawan, a researcher at Indonesia Corruption Watch.
The one-time Miss Indonesia's dramatic fall from grace began shortly after investigators closed in on Muhammad Nazaruddin, the former Democrat treasurer.
Nazaruddin began to name names before he was even arrested, dropping clues on the involvement of fellow Democrats via Skype from his hideout in Colombia.
Angelina was closely aligned with former party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, rising to deputy secretary general of the Democratic Party after casting a vote in Anas's favor. But by the time Nazaruddin was extradited from Colombia, Anas and his protege, all once seen as stars of the party, were heavily mired in a widening corruption scandal.
Angelina and Nazaruddin were convicted in separate trials over their involvement in various graft cases.
Nazaruddin, who received a four-year sentence last year, was also given a longer sentence — seven years — upon appeal by the KPK. For his part, Anas has been named a suspect for allegedly taking up to Rp 100 billion in kickbacks to rig the awarding of a lucrative contract to build a sports center in Hambalang, Bogor. Andi Mallarangeng, the Democrats' former sports minister, has been detained in the same case.
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