The Supreme Court\'s ruling and the steps taken by the state prosecutor\'s office to immediately send the convicts to prison deserve appreciation.
By
Kompas EDITOR
·3 minutes read
The state prosecutors’ office has carried out the decision of the Supreme Court, which had earlier sentenced Benny Tjokro and Heru Hidayat to life in prison in the PT Asuransi Jiwasraya corruption case.
Benny is president director of PT Hanson International Tbk, and Heru is president commissioner of PT Trada Alam Minera. The two were found guilty of involvement in corruption related to the management of investments and finances of state-owned PT Asuransi Jiwasraya (Persero), as well as money laundering. The panel of the court’s justices, chaired by Suhadi, upheld an earlier ruling that sentenced the two convicts to life imprisonment. (Kompas, 26/8/2021).
The state prosecutors’ office, upon receiving a copy of the Supreme Court\'s decision on Wednesday (25/8/2021), sent Benny and Heru to prison. The office also carried out the sentences of four other convicted corruptors: Hary Prasetyo, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison, Hendrisman Rahim (20 years), Syahmirwan (18 years) and Joko Hartono Tirto (20 years). Hary, Hendrisman and Syahmirwan are all former officials of Asuransi Jiwasraya, while Joko is a former director of PT Maxima Integra.
The six convicts still have the option to take the extraordinary legal action of a case review (PK) to challenge the Supreme Court\'s cassation ruling. However, doing so will not delay their sentences. The convicts are serving their sentences at Cipinang Prison and Salemba Prison. The convicts’ lawyers have deemed their sentences to be flawed and unjust.
The Supreme Court\'s ruling and the steps taken by the state prosecutor\'s office to immediately send the convicts to prison deserve appreciation. The ruling and immediate imprisonment can increase public confidence in the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, that the country is still firm about eradicating corruption. Their sentences are also expected to deter convicts and potential corruptors to think again. Moreover, Heru and Benny still face corruption trials related to financial and investment management at state-owned PT Asabri (Persero).
The judicial ruling is also expected to mark the revival of the insurance industry in becoming more professional and be careful. The country’s insurance industry is expected to improve handling its business, because it has the people’s trust.
The state must also protect the rights of its citizens, not only their assets.
As for the public, especially the customers of PT Asuransi Jiwasraya, the sentences handed down to the corruptors has not been a satisfactory conclusion. There is still a sense the justice has been disrupted, especially regarding the rights of the citizens who had entrusted their property to the insurance company. The people’s rights must be protected. These customers are victims. The state must also protect the rights of its citizens, not only their assets.
To protect the rights of PT Asuransi Jiwasraya customers, the government has readied Rp 26.7 trillion from the state equity participation and from funds raised by Indonesia Financial Group (IFG) as the state-owned insurance holding company. However, Jiwasraya\'s negative equity exceeded Rp 38.5 trillion as of December 2020.
The majority of Jiwasraya customers have also accepted the government’s restructuring scheme offer to transfer their portfolios to IFG, which is scheduled to commence in September. However, there are still customers who have rejected the scheme. This requires another round of discussions based on mutual good intentions to find common ground and justice for the victims.
(This article was translated byKurniawan Siswoko).