Defendants of the corruption case pertaining to the state-owned tin miner PT Timah Harvey Moeis (centre), Suparta (right) and Reza Andriansyah (left) walking out of the courtroom on Dec 23, 2024, after a verdict hearing against them in the Jakarta Corruption Court. The panel of judges sentenced Harvey, Suparta and Reza to 6.5 years, eight years and five years, respectively, for their respective roles in the corruption case.`- JP
JAKARTA: The Indonesian government has granted special sentence reductions to 16,078 prisoners, including juvenile inmates, during the Christmas season, a move officials said would help reduce state spending.
The remissions are expected to save the state 9.47 billion rupiah (S$724,748) in prison-related costs, according to the Immigration and Corrections Ministry.
Of those receiving sentence reductions, 174 inmates were released immediately, while 15,904 others had their sentences shortened.
Among them were high-profile corruption convicts, including businessman Harvey Moeis and former communications and information minister Johnny G. Plate.
Harvey was sentenced in 2024 to 20 years in prison for facilitating illegal tin trading and mining operations within state-owned miner PT Timah’s concession areas between 2015 and 2022, a case prosecutors said caused state losses of around 300 trillion rupiah.
Johnny, meanwhile, was handed a 15-year prison sentence in 2023 for his role in a corruption case involving the 4G base transceiver station (BTS) project at the former Communications and Information Ministry, which prosecutors said resulted in state losses of about 8 trillionrupiah.
Both men received a one-month sentence reduction, the ministry said.
Immigration and Corrections Minister Agus Andrianto said on Dec 25 that the Christmas remissions reflected the state’s commitment to protecting the rights of Christian inmates.
“This is not merely a reduction in prison terms, but an expression of appreciation for good conduct, discipline and participation in rehabilitation programmes,” Agus said, as quoted by Kompas.id.
“It is a correctional instrument aimed at encouraging better behaviour, strengthening motivation and preparing inmates to return to society as constructive members.”
Sentence reductions tied to religious holidays are a long-standing practice in Indonesia and are typically granted to inmates who meet administrative and behavioural requirements.
Indonesia’s total prison and detention centre population currently stands at 277,286, including inmates, detainees and juveniles, according to data from the Correctional Database System (SDP). - The Jakarta Post/ANN
