JAKARTA (Yosefardi) – The Jakarta Corruption Court has rejected the demand to release Hendra Saputra, an office boy at PT Imaje Media Jakarta, and decided to sentencing the defendant to one year in jail.

Hendra is jailed as he was involved in the graft case related to the procurement project of Rp23.4 billion multimedia digital advertisement (videotron) at the Ministry of Cooperative & Small-Medium Enterprises (KUKM).

This graft case is also implicating Rievan Afrian, son of Minister KUKM Syarief Hasan, the owner of PT Imaje Media Jakarta.

On the Wednesday’s (August 27) trial, Presiding Judge Nani Indrawati said Hendra has been proven guilty for committing corruption. One member of the panel of judges, however, gave a dissenting opinion that actually suggested the court to release Hendra.

As reported earlier, the prosecutor team from the Attorney General Office (AGO) has demanded the court to drop 2.5 years in prison for Hendra. The prosecutor team also demanded the court to order Hendra to pay Rp50 million in fine or serving additional punishment of 6 months in jail.

Hendra Saputra, whose name is used as the Director of PT Imaje Media Jakarta, was arrested by the prosecutor on October 30, 2013 in Samarinda, East Kalimantan.

Along with Hendra, another 2 suspects in the case are Rievan Afrian and Hasnawi Bachtiar, an official at the KUKM Ministry.

Minister Syarief Hasan, who is also Daily Executive Chairman of President SBY’s Democratic Party, meanwhile, repeatedly denied he was involved in the scandal by saying he didn’t have any knowledge over the tender process of the project. (haryantos@yosefardi.biz)