Prosecutors at the Jakarta Anti- Corruption Court on Thursday demanded the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for a suspended Central Jakarta District Court judge accused of accepting Rp 250 million ($28,000) in bribes.

M. Syarifuddin Umar allegedly received a payoff from Puguh Wirawan, a curator handling a bankruptcy case involving clothing firm Skycamping Indonesia.

Puguh, who was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in November for his role in the case, reportedly paid the judge to overvalue the company’s assets at Rp 35 billion — significantly higher than the Rp 25 billion valuation by Bank Nasional Indonesia and the tax office.

On Thursday, Zet Todung Allo, who leads a team of prosecutors from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), told the court that Syarifuddin’s abuse of his position as a judge had damaged the reputation of the country’s judicial system.

“Throughout the trial we have found no mitigating circumstances for the defendant,” Zet told the court. He said that Syarifuddin should receive the maximum penalty.”

The prosecution also argued that Syarifuddin had been uncooperative throughout the KPK investigation by making a number of counterallegations against the antigraft agency. Read more