Not-So-Honorable Judges

From the bottom up, Indonesia's legal system is in shambles, with the Supreme Court as the highest judicial authority in the country infested with the legal mafia. Graft cases involving Supreme Court officials-possibly including the secretary-have kept the anti-graft commission (KPK) very busy.

How does the Supreme Court, mandated with a supervisory role, allow its staff to manipulate court cases? An example of 'like teacher, like student' can be seen when Janner Purba, the Kepahiang district court chief judge, Bengkulu, was nabbed by the KPK last week. Along with his colleague Toton, the judge was caught red-handed with Rp150 million in his pocket. The KPK also found another Rp500 million in Janner's office.

May 31, 2016