January 2, 2025
JAKARTA – Public anger has ensued following a court verdict that sentenced businessman Harvey Moeis to 6.5 years in prison, with many saying the punishment is too lenient considering the scale of the case, which has cost the state Rp 300 trillion (US$18.5 billion), one of Indonesia’s largest corruption cases.
Harvey, a coal businessman and husband of actress Sandra Dewi, was found guilty early last week of corruption and money laundering in a case involving state-owned tin miner PT Timah, which has the largest tin mining concessions in the country.
He was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison by the Jakarta Corruption Court, a much lighter sentence than the 12 years sought by prosecutors. He was also ordered to pay Rp 1 billion in fines and Rp 210 billion in restitution.
The court’s decision drew public criticism, with many expressing that the punishment did not fit Harvey’s crimes and venting their anger on social media.
“[Harvey] simply has to show good behavior [in prison] and wait for a remission every Independence Day. Soon he will be free,” wrote an X user.
Former coordinating politics, legal and security affairs minister and unsuccessful vice presidential candidate Mahfud MD wrote on X on Tuesday that a person found guilty in a massive corruption case deserved life in prison and their assets should be confiscated to compensate state losses.
Mahfud last week said on X that Harvey’s sentence was “illogical” and “hurt the sense of justice”.
The Timah corruption case has sent 14 other defendants to prison, including former Timah president director Mochtar Riza Pahlevi Tabrani, for enabling other companies to mine in Timah’s concession areas in Bangka Belitung from 2015 to 2022, and to profit from the illegal mining.
The scandal has caused total state losses of Rp 300 trillion, comprised of Rp 2.28 trillion from the irregular lease of tin processing equipment, Rp 26.65 trillion in payments made to illegal miners and Rp 271.07 trillion in environmental damage.
As a comparison, Rp 300 trillion is nearly 65 percent of the total budget needed to develop the Nusantara Capital City (IKN), the ongoing project to build the country’s future capital city.
Read also: Harvey Moeis gets 6.5 years for graft, money laundering
Amid intense public anger, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) filed an appeal for an appellate court to consider a heavier sentence for Harvey.
“After studying the court verdict [and] after some considerations, the prosecution decided that the sentence has not yet provided a sense of justice to the public. So we have appealed on Dec. 27,” AGO spokesperson Harli Siregar told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
The Judicial Commission, an external oversight body, said the court’s decision had “caused turmoil in society”, adding that it will launch an “investigation into the court’s decision to see whether there had been any alleged ethics violations”.
The Jakarta Corruption Court found Harvey to be the link between PT Timah and private smelter PT Refined Bangka Tin (RBT), which was operating under the state-owned tin giant’s mining permit and sold its products to PT Timah.
In their consideration, the judges however said the prosecutor’s sentence demand was too harsh in view of the offenses for which Harvey had been convicted in his role as a representative of RBT, and not a commissioner, director or shareholder.