Prosecutor demands 4 years in jail for former forestry director general

Prosecutor demands 4 years in jail for former forestry director general
JAKARTA (Antara): The prosecutor in a Corruption Eradiction Commission (KPK) court session on Wednesday demanded four years in jail for former director general of production forest management, Waskito Suryodibroto, for alleged graft in the development of oil-palm plantations in East Kalimantan.

The KPK prosecutor said the defendant who held the post from 1998 to 2002, had issued an “in-principle” approval for the issuance of timber utilization permits to eight companies which had not fulfilled the needed requirements.

The eight companies are PT Kaltim Bhakti Sejahtera, PT Bhumi Simanggaris Indah, PY Tirta Madu Sawit Jaya, PY Bulungan Argo Jaya, PY Repenas Bhakti Utama, PT Bulungan Hijau Perkasa, PT Borneo Bhakti Sejahtera and PT Bhumi Sawit Perkasa.

“The defendant issued the in-principle approval based on direct request from the companies without going through the office of the Forestry Ministry in East Kalimantan,” public prosecutor KMS Roni said when reading his indictment at the KPK`s Corruption Crime Court on Wednesday.

Waskito also issued the approval based on a recommendation on reserve area by East Kalimantan Governor Suwarna Abdul Fatah through an oil palm plantation recommendation letter.

The eight companies did not fulfill the requirement as stipulated in the Forestry and Plantation Minister’s decree No. 538/Kpts-II/1999, the prosecutor said, as they left the forest and did not develop palm oil plantations after they cut the trees.

Besides demanding four years in jail, the prosecutor also asked the judge to fine the defendant Rp200 million in substitution of six months in jail.(**)
Source: The Jakarta Post