Patrialis Akbar Dismissed From Constitutional Court
Jakarta. The Constitutional Court has dismissed one of its members, Patrialis Akbar, with its ethics council finding his alleged involvement in a graft scandal as a "grave offense."
"[The court] has dismissed graft suspect Patrialis Akbar from his duties as a Constitutional Court judge effective Friday, Jan. 27, 2017," court chairman Arief Hidayat said in Central Jakarta.
Arief said the ethics council has also interrogated parties thought to be involved in the ethical violations allegedly conducted by Patrialis.
The council has already questioned Manahan Sitompul and I Gede Dewa Palguna, who were with Patrialis in a panel of judges handling a judicial review on an animal farming and health law.
"We have also questioned the court's registrars. But we didn't find anything suspicious," Arief said.
National antigraft agency KPK named Patrialis a suspect in a graft case on Thursday (26/01), following his arrest a day earlier.
In a sting operation on Wednesday, investigators from the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, arrested 11 people in three different places in Jakarta, including Patrialis.
The KPK investigators also seized financial transaction documents, currency exchange receipts and a draft of a law to be reviewed.
Patrialis has reportedly received $20,000 and SGD$200,000 ($140,000) in bribes related to a judicial review on Law No. 41/2014 on animal farming and health from meat importer Basuki Hariman and his secretary Ng Fenny.
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