[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 28



INDONESIA:

MPR chief asks govt to impose death penalty on big-time corrupters


Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Hidayat Nur Wahid has
asked the government to immediately impose a death penalty on the
country's big-time corrupters.

"The law must be upheld. Anybody proven guilty of inflicting huge losses
to the state deserves the death penalty," he said here on Sunday.

The MPR chief said he had asked the Indonesian police chief and the
attorney general to impose the most severe sentence on corrupters. "This
is to save the Indonesian nation`s future."

The government could impose the death penalty on corrupters when it
referred to Law No.20/2001 on the Amendment to Law No.31/1999 on
Corruption Eradication, he said.

The law stipulates that anybody found guilty of committing corruption
under certain circumstances, he/she may be subject to the death penalty.
The certain circumstances refer to conditions in which corruption is
committed when the country is in the state of emergency, is put under
national disaster status or is facing economic and monetary crisis.

The death penalty was designed to bring about a deterrent effect to
would-be corrupters, he said.

"The move will give confidence to the public that the law can be upheld in
our country," he said.

Wahid said he believed the death penalty would not spark international
protest. "Malaysia and Singapore can apply the death penalty, why can't
Indonesia do the same."

The government must have the courage to impose the capital punishment on
corrupters, otherwise it would be difficult to rid the country of
corruption, he said.

(source: ANTARA News)