The single judge of the South Jakarta District Court (PN Jaksel) rejected the pretrial lawsuit filed by former Minister of Trade Thomas Trikasih Lembong or Tom Lembong. The judge opined that the designation of Tom as a suspect is valid, as long as there are indications of state losses in the sugar import corruption case.
“In calculating state losses, it is not required to have formal evidence first in the form of a final or definite calculation of state losses by a certain institution, and it is sufficient to state that there is a real, occurred, or lost state loss that can be calculated,” said Judge Tumpanuli Marbun in his consideration, Tuesday (26/11/2024).
The judge emphasized that the calculation of state losses does not have to have a definite value, even if tested in court. The Lembong camp had previously questioned the actual losses in the sugar corruption case, which were considered to not have a definite value.
However, the judge emphasized that the state’s losses have already occurred and are real, as calculated by BPKP, BPK, or related institutions.
“This means that the loss has already occurred and is real, not a potential future loss. It has already manifested in terms of time period, amount, type, quality, and numerical movement. Therefore, when calculated by an expert, it can be determined with certainty,” the judge emphasized.
Fulfill the procedure
In addition, the judge explained that the calculation of state losses serves only as a basis for the investigators of the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to bring to the main trial later.
With this decision, the investigation into the alleged corruption case of sugar imports will continue, and the judge deemed that the investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has followed the applicable procedures.
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