18-month jail sentence for sandals thief sparks corruption debate in Indonesia

The Star

2 days ago

JAKARTA: A North Sumatran man has been handed a prison sentence of 18 months for stealing a pair of sandals from his former boss, prompting a wave of public criticism over what many see as an unequal justice system that punishes the poor more harshly than corrupt elites.
Netizens have taken to social media to criticise the verdict, comparing it to cases in which public officials received similar or even lighter sentences for embezzling billions of rupiah in state funds.
Last week, the Medan District Court sentenced 32-year-old Nefri Zaldi, a resident of Deli Serdang Regency, to 18 months in prison for stealing a pair of Hermes sandals from the home of his former employer, Siwaji Raja, in an incident that occurred late last year.
According to court findings, Nefri and a friend, Andika Gumtom, visited Siwaji's residence on the afternoon of Dec 28, 2024. As they were leaving the property, Nefri took a pair of Hermes sandals from the shoe rack, an act witnessed directly by Andika.
Several days later, a witness named Ravindra informed Andika that Siwaji had lost a pair of sandals valued at Rp15 million (US$916).
Andika then told Ravindra that he had seen Nefri take the sandals during their visit. The information prompted Siwaji to file a police report, and Nefri was arrested on March 21, and the trial began on June 24.
The court ultimately found Nefri guilty of theft on July 29 and sentenced him to 18 months in prison, a lighter sentence than the two years sought by prosecutors.
Presiding judge Sarma Siregar cited Nefri's clean criminal record as a mitigating factor.
'However, the defendant's actions have caused financial harm to the victim and disrupted public order,' the judge said during the verdict hearing.
During the trial, Nefri admitted to the theft and expressed remorse, asking the court for leniency on the grounds that he is the sole breadwinner for his family.
He faced the proceedings without legal representation and stated after the verdict that he was still considering whether to file an appeal against the prison sentence.
Deny Marincka, Head of the General Crimes Unit at the Medan District Attorney's Office, acknowledged that an 18-month prison sentence may seem excessive for stealing a pair of sandals.
However, he argued that the financial loss suffered by the victim was substantial.
'For example, it's not uncommon for motorcycle thieves to receive two-year prison sentences, even though the value of the stolen motorcycle is sometimes half that of a pair of luxury sandals,' he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
'Yet the public tends to be more sympathetic when someone is jailed for stealing sandals than for stealing a motorcycle, regardless of the actual value of the items. That's the dilemma prosecutors often face,' Deny added.
He also said prosecutors are still deliberating whether to file an appeal, taking into account various factors, including humanitarian considerations.
When asked about the relatively harsh sentence given to Nefri compared to the often lighter penalties faced by public officials involved in graft, Deny simply responded that theft and corruption are 'different offences' and declined to elaborate further.
Many public officials have received sentences equal to or lighter than Nefri's for graft-related offenses.
Last month, seven public officials in Bintan Regency, Riau Islands, were each sentenced to one year in prison for embezzling tourist entrance fees from the Sungai Sebong mangrove tourism area between 2017 and 2024.
Their actions caused state losses totalling Rp860 million (US$52,000). In May, a civil servant at the Berau Health Agency in East Kalimantan was sentenced to one year in prison and fined Rp50 million for fabricating salary records and embezzling funds, causing the state a loss of Rp1.2 billion.
In September of last year, the former head of the South Sumatran Office of the Indonesian Sports Council (KONI) received a one-year prison sentence for embezzling Rp3.4 billion by fabricating events.
He was also ordered to repay the misappropriated funds. Zaenur Rohman, a researcher at the Gadjah Mada University Center for Anti-Corruption Studies (Pukat UGM), said that although Nefri's sentence aligns with the penalties outlined in the criminal code for theft, it does not necessarily satisfy the public's sense of justice.
'This disparity is a serious problem because it can undermine the public's sense of justice and weaken the deterrent effect for graft,' he told the Post on Monday.
'That's why penalties for corruption must be much harsher, especially in terms of financial punishment. Instead of focusing primarily on prison sentences, we need to increase fines for graft offenders and ensure the confiscation of their assets, possibly through amendments to the Corruption Eradication Law,' he added. - The Jakarta Post/ANN