Former IM2 boss gets 4 years in prison for graft

JAKARTA. The Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced Monday the former PT Indosat Mega Media (IM2) president director Indar Atmanto to four years in prison for misusing the 3G/HSDPA broadband network services owned by PT Indosat Tbk.

He also obliged to pay a fine of Rp 200 million (US$20,000) or serve an additional three months in prison.

"The defendant is proven legally and convincingly guilty of grafting," Chief judge Antonius Widjantono.

The verdict was based on the Article 2 Paragraph 1 of Law No. 31/1999 on Eradicating Criminal Act of Corruption that had been amended by Law No 20/2001 relating to Article 55 Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, the chief judge said.

The verdict was lighter than the Jakarta District Attorney prosecutors' charge of ten years in prison and a fine of Rp 500 million or serve an additional six months in prison, since the judges assessed Indar wasn't proven guilty of enriching himself.

However, the chief judge continued, based on the report from the Development and Finance Surveillance Agency, the IM2 had caused a state loss of Rp 1.35 trillion by using the Indosat frequency bands without paying the upfront fee.

"Therefore, the panel of judges considered that is fair to sentence the IM2 to pay a compensation of Rp 1,358 trillion within a period of one year," the chief judge added. (fan)