After managing to escape capture for four years, a former banking officer from Lampung, South Sumatra, was arrested at a hotel in Tanjung Benoa, Bali, yesterday.
Working on a tip-off, the Bali Prosecutor (Kejati) team discovered the fugitive officer, named Sugiarto Wiharjo, eating lunch with his family in the dining area of the Novotel hotel in Tanjung Benoa, according to a report in Bali Post. Wiharjo had reportedly stopped off in Bali on his way to Lombok, traveling from Jember in East Java by land in order to avoid detection.
Back in 2014, Wiharjo was arrested for grand larceny while serving as president commissioner at the Tripanca Setyadana bank in Lampung, as recapped by detiknews. The case involved five directors and the former regents of East Lampung and Central Lampung. The East Lampung Regency Government reported suffering losses amounting to more than IDR100 billion (US$7.16 million) from their Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (ABPD).
“The defendant broke into his own bank in collaboration with the directors, and transferred the funds into a personal account. The money belonged to the government of East Lampung and Central Lampung. About 7 people [were involved], namely directors and the former regents of Central Lampung and East Lampung,” explained the head of the Indonesian Attorney General’s Office, Edwin Beslar, yesterday, as quoted in detiknews.
In May 2014, Wiharjo was sentenced to 18 years in prison, but managed to escape authorities and his whereabouts had been unknown up until yesterday.
At the time of his arrest yesterday, Wiharjo did not resist and stayed calm and cooperative throughout the whole process. Prosecutors have not yet announced what additional charges Wiharjo will face in addition to his original sentence.
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