Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A senior politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP), Panda Nababan, was sentenced to 15 months in jail along with three other defendants for corruption on Wednesday.

Chief judge of the Jakarta Corruption Court, Eka Budi Prijatna, said "first defendant Panda Nababan, second defendant Angelina Andaris Patiasina, third defendant Mohammad Iqbal and fourth defendant Budiningsih are validly and convincingly proven guilty of corruption."

Panda and the three were also fined Rp50 million each for receiving bribesin connection with the election of central bank senior deputy governor in 2004 or had to stay three months more in jail if they failed to pay it.

Unfavorable for the defendants the judges said was that the four as parliamentary members had acted carelessly and not supported governance.

Two of the panel of judges namely I Made Hendra and Andi Bachtiar however had dissenting opinions on Panda Nababan.

They said Panda was not proven receiving travel checks as no testimony stated he did.

In small envelopes distributed to around 19 members of the House of Representatives` Commission IX for 1999-2004 no name of Panda Nababan was found in one of them.

They also said that no witness said that Panda directly received the checks.

Panda said after the session that he would appeal the verdict.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011