Dari Soeharto sampai Yaqut Cholil Qoumas – siapa saja terduga koruptor yang mengaku sakit dan bagaimana nasib mereka?

The house arrest status initially granted to Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, the former Religious Affairs Minister, has ignited widespread controversy, despite claims by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) that he has since been transferred to a detention facility housing other corruption suspects. This contentious decision by the KPK led the public to draw immediate comparisons between the treatment Yaqut received and that of other high-profile corruption defendants and suspects.

For instance, the legal counsel for former Papua Governor Lukas Enembe vehemently labeled the KPK’s actions as discriminatory. He highlighted the disparity, citing how investigators, in his view, deliberately complicated Lukas Enembe’s health care matters, ultimately leading to his death in a hospital in December 2023.

Adding to the criticism, Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) warned that granting Yaqut house arrest could establish a detrimental precedent for handling future corruption cases. This anti-corruption watchdog promptly called for a thorough investigation into the KPK officials and leadership involved in approving the house arrest status.

Chronologically, the KPK approved Yaqut’s house arrest request on March 19, just two days after it was submitted by the family of the suspect in the hajj quota corruption case. The KPK, however, has not publicly disclosed the specific reasons Yaqut’s family provided to the investigators for this request. The controversy surged publicly, prompting the KPK to relocate Yaqut back to a detention center on March 24.

Prior to his return to the detention facility, Asep Guntur Rahayu, the KPK’s Deputy for Enforcement and Execution, stated that Yaqut underwent a medical examination at the National Police Hospital in Jakarta. Asep reported that doctors diagnosed Yaqut with asthma and acute Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). This raises a critical question: why did the KPK implement such a divergent policy for Yaqut, especially when numerous alleged corruptors before him had also cited illness as a reason?

Alleged Corruptors’ Health Claims

In Indonesia, it is a recurring pattern for individuals suspected of corruption to cite health issues when facing legal proceedings. A notable historical example involves Suharto, Indonesia’s second president, who famously never appeared in court during the 2000 trial concerning the alleged misuse of trillions of rupiah from several foundations at the South Jakarta District Court. His legal team at the time asserted that Suharto suffered from various ailments, rendering him medically unfit for court examination.

Despite repeated attempts, prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office were unable to compel Suharto’s attendance in the courtroom. Consequently, the panel of judges formed an independent medical team, comprising experts from organizations such as the Indonesian Medical Association, the University of Indonesia, and Gadjah Mada University. However, this team later echoed the sentiments of Suharto’s legal counsel.

Based on clinical psychiatric and psychogeriatric findings, the medical team concluded that Suharto was mentally unfit and incapable of standing trial. His claimed medical history included heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, gallstone surgery, high cholesterol, kidney stones, and prostate issues. The team declared these conditions to be permanently debilitating. As a result, the judges ultimately rejected the prosecutor’s demand to proceed with the trial in Suharto’s absence. In September 2000, the court closed the case, effectively failing to fulfill the first agenda item of the 1998 reform movement. Suharto was never prosecuted during his lifetime, and the Attorney General’s Office issued a Case Closure Order (SP3) for him in May 2006.

Nonetheless, Suharto’s health status at the time sparked considerable controversy, partly fueled by his routine visits to Nusa Kambangan Prison to see his youngest son, Hutomo Mandala Putra, also known as Tommy, who was incarcerated for the premeditated murder of Supreme Court Justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita. “Suharto’s appearance—both physical and mental—did not convey the impression of a helpless and weak individual suffering from severe illness,” noted Tempo Magazine in its November 3, 2002, edition. “What was visible was an elderly man whose movements, though slow, were independent, without the need for a wheelchair or a walking stick. In Nusa Kambangan, he could distinguish between Tommy and Bob Hasan,” Tempo reported.

Suharto was not alone in using health as a legal defense. Various alleged corruptors, even before the KPK’s establishment in December 2002, claimed illness in court. For instance, in March 2001, former Minister of Mining, Ginandjar Kartasasmita, cited illness and received treatment at Pertamina Central Hospital in Jakarta. Ginandjar was then implicated in state losses stemming from a contract between Pertamina and PT Ustraindo Petro Gas for oil fields in Pendopo, Prabumulih, Jatibarang, and Bunyu. On the grounds of his health, Ginandjar’s legal team argued in court that their client could not attend the proceedings. Ultimately, this case was also closed with an SP3 from the Attorney General’s Office.

In the era of the KPK, health claims have repeatedly surfaced from corruption suspects. In 2004, former Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh asserted illness during his trial for the procurement of an Mi-2 helicopter. He was notably absent from his sentencing, again citing illness, when he was eventually found guilty. Similarly, Nunun Nurbaeti, wife of former Deputy Chief of Police Adang Darajatun, failed to answer KPK summonses in 2011, claiming illness during the bribery case involving traveler’s checks for the selection of a Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor. Her family doctor alleged amnesia, and she reportedly left the country for medical treatment, only to be declared a fugitive by the KPK. Nunun was eventually apprehended and convicted.

When entangled in a bribery case involving judges and clerks of the Medan State Administrative Court in 2015, lawyer Otto Cornelis Kaligis also declared himself ill. For five days in September 2015, the KPK permitted Otto to be hospitalized at the Jakarta Army Central Hospital. However, doctors at the hospital refuted Kaligis’s claim of heart disease. Furthermore, former House Speaker Setya Novanto also invoked illness in the electronic ID card corruption case in 2017, claiming to suffer from diarrhea, muteness, and deafness. KPK prosecutors at the time accused Setya of feigning illness.

The panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court then appointed a medical team to verify Setya’s claims, which ultimately concluded that Setya was in good health. In his verdict, the judge found the former Golkar Party leader guilty.

What About Yaqut?

Yaqut was formally detained on March 12 as a suspect in the alleged hajj quota corruption case. His initial detention period, according to KPK Deputy for Enforcement and Execution Asep Guntur Rahayu, was slated to run until March 31. However, on March 21, Yaqut was conspicuously absent from the KPK detention facility. This information first came to public light via Silvia Rinita Harefa, the wife of former Deputy Minister of Manpower, Immanuel Ebenezer, who was visiting her husband on the morning of Eid al-Fitr.

Outside the detention center, journalists inquired if Silvia had seen Yaqut inside. Silvia replied that several detainees had not seen Yaqut. “Apparently, Gus Yaqut wasn’t there. The information was that he left on Thursday night,” Silvia stated. “They were just wondering, they said there was an examination, but it’s impossible for an examination to happen on the eve of Eid. Until today, he wasn’t there,” she told the press.

It wasn’t until March 24 that Yaqut reappeared at the KPK building, clad in the distinctive orange vest of a KPK suspect, his hands cuffed. “Alhamdulillah, I was able to pay my respects to my mother, an extraordinary blessing,” Yaqut told journalists. Before Yaqut’s return to the KPK detention center, located behind the anti-corruption agency’s office, Deputy Asep Guntur Rahayu addressed the press.

Asep confirmed that the KPK had indeed altered Yaqut’s status from detention to house arrest, citing Yaqut’s “health condition” as the reason. “We inform you that one of the results of the health assessment is that the individual suffers from acute GERD, and has undergone endoscopy and colonoscopy,” Asep explained. “I’m not very familiar with medical terms, perhaps colleagues can check. The individual also suffers from asthma,” he added. Asep further explained that Yaqut then underwent a medical examination at the Polri Hospital, which was selected due to its proximity to Yaqut’s home and its adequate facilities and specialist doctors. Asep claimed that by March 24, Yaqut’s detention status had been reverted from house arrest back to a detention facility.

‘KPK is Discriminatory’

Petrus Pattyona, the legal counsel for former Papua Governor Lukas Enembe, strongly condemned the KPK’s policy regarding Yaqut as discriminatory. “Back in Lukas’s case, it was the investigators who were most insistent on health examination requests,” Petrus claimed. “They sent a team of doctors, who then placed stethoscopes on Lukas’s stomach and forehead, then declared ‘Oh, Mr. Lukas is fine.’ Lukas was then taken back to the detention room,” Petrus recounted. “Upon reaching the detention room, Lukas collapsed, and then they [the investigators] called me,” he added.

Petrus asserted that, feeling his health condition was being neglected by the KPK, Lukas eventually became despondent. Lukas felt his requests for hospital treatment were deliberately denied by the KPK. Ultimately, Petrus stated, Lukas’s health continued to deteriorate. The severe conditions led a number of fellow corruption suspects housed in the KPK detention center to collectively write a protest letter concerning Lukas’s plight. The two-term Governor of Papua, originally from Puncak Regency, refused to eat and take his medication. Petrus alleged that, due to his illness, Lukas experienced incontinence in various parts of the KPK detention center, drawing complaints from other detainees.

“The team of doctors from Gatot Subroto Hospital said Lukas was ill. But what did the KPK doctors say? ‘Oh, he’s fine’,” Petrus recalled. In August 2023, amidst his trial, the KPK counter-accused Lukas of neglecting his own health. It was only in October 2023 that the Corruption Court Panel of Judges granted the request from Petrus and Lukas’s other legal counsel. The judges allowed Lukas to receive treatment at RSPAD “in the name of humanity and to safeguard the defendant’s health.”

The reading of Lukas’s verdict was initially canceled in the first week of October 2023. However, he attended his sentencing on October 19, appearing in a wheelchair. Lukas was found guilty, with judges concluding he had received bribes totaling Rp17.7 billion and gratification valued at Rp1.99 billion. Two months after his sentencing, on December 26, 2023, Lukas passed away at RSPAD. Petrus stated that Lukas succumbed to chronic kidney disease, stroke, diabetes, and heart disease.

What Does ICW Say?

Wana Alamsyah, Head of Legal and Investigation Division at ICW, characterized the provision of house arrest status to Yaqut as “a privilege for a corruption suspect.” He emphasized that the transfer of detention status from a facility to a home, particularly on health grounds, has always been subject to rigorous scrutiny. “This will establish a detrimental precedent for anti-corruption efforts in Indonesia,” Wana asserted. “A suspect then gains the potential to tamper with and destroy evidence, or influence witnesses, when under house arrest,” he added.

To ensure accountability, Wana urged the KPK Supervisory Board to investigate the leadership of the anti-corruption agency. According to Wana, the Supervisory Board has legitimate grounds to suspect that the KPK’s leadership was aware of and approved the transfer of Yaqut from detention to house arrest. Petrus Pattyona, legal counsel for former Papua Governor Lukas Enembe, echoed this sentiment, arguing that based on Lukas’s case, KPK investigators would not make such decisions without the consideration of their superiors. “Would he dare to change it himself? Of course, there’s a powerful figure behind it,” Petrus alleged.

What is the Impact of the Yaqut Controversy?

The controversy surrounding Yaqut has already begun to ripple through other corruption cases. The non-active Riau Governor, Abdul Wahid, for instance, submitted a request on Thursday (March 26) to alter his detention status. Wahid, who is implicated in an extortion case related to infrastructure projects in Riau, expressed hopes of serving his detention period at home. “The defendant also wishes to apply for a change in detention from detention center to house arrest,” Wahid’s legal counsel stated during a hearing at the Pekanbaru Corruption Court. “This is based on Article 108 paragraphs 5 and 11 of the Criminal Procedure Code and considers the precedent set by one suspect, namely Mr. YC [Yaqut Cholil], who was transferred to house arrest,” he explained. “The reason is the health condition of the defendant, Mr. Abdul Wahid,” his lawyer added.

However, the KPK prosecutor urged the judge to reject Wahid’s application. “During the investigation period, we did not find any alarming medical history. This means the individual is in good health,” a KPK prosecutor representative stated in court. A similar application is also reportedly being planned by the legal counsel for former Deputy Minister of Manpower, Immanuel Ebenezer. “We plan to submit it at the family’s request,” his legal advisor, Aziz Yanuar, informed Kompas.com.