Arranged by the Panel of Judges to acquit Ronald Tannur, Former Chairman of the Surabaya District Court Charged with Accepting Rp. 540 Million in Bribes

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Former Chief Judge of the Surabaya District Court, Rudi Suparmono, has been charged with orchestrating the composition of judges to acquit Gregorius Ronald Tannur, who was involved in the assault case that resulted in the death of his girlfriend, Dini Sera Afrianti. Rudi received a reward of 43,000 Singapore dollars, equivalent to approximately Rp 540 million, from Ronald Tannur's lawyer, Lisa Rachmat.

Not only that, the public prosecutor also charged Rudi Suparmono with the article on the acceptance of gratification during his tenure as the Chairman of the Surabaya District Court and the Chairman of the Central Jakarta District Court. During his tenure, Rudi received a total of approximately Rp 21 billion for case management.

The indictment against Rudi Suparmono was read alternately by the public prosecutors, namely Bagus Kusuma Wardhana Aji and colleagues, at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday (19/5/2025). The hearing was presided over by Chief Judge Iwan Irawan, accompanied by Sri Hartati and Andi Saputra as panel judges.

The public prosecutor explained that Rudi Suparmono, while serving as the Chairman of the Surabaya District Court, received a bribe for arranging an acquittal for the perpetrator of severe assault, Ronald Tannur. Rudi was said to have played a role in arranging the composition of judges to acquit Ronald Tannur. Rudi received a reward of 43,000 Singapore dollars or approximately 540 million rupiah from Ronald Tannur's lawyer, Lisa Rachmat.

The three judges who acquitted Ronald Tannur, namely Erintuah Damanik, Mangapul, and Heru Hanindyo, have been found guilty by the Jakarta Corruption Court. They were proven to have accepted bribes to handle Ronald Tannur's case. Heru Hanindyo was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Erintuah Damanik and Mangapul received sentences of 7 years in prison.

The other defendants are Lisa Rachmat, the lawyer of Ronald Tannur; Meirizka Widjaja, the mother of Ronald Tannur; and Zarof Ricar, a former official of the Supreme Court, who are currently undergoing trial at the Jakarta Corruption Court.

According to the prosecutor, the bribery incident began when Meirizka Widjaja requested Lisa Rachmat to act as legal counsel for Ronald Tannur. Following Meirizka's request for assistance in her child's criminal case, around March 2024, Lisa contacted Zarof via the WhatsApp messaging application to seek help.

Zarof then introduced Lisa to the Chairman of the Surabaya District Court, who at that time was still held by Rudi Suparmono. On March 4, 2024, Zarof Ricar contacted Rudi via WhatsApp message, essentially conveying that Lisa would meet Rudi at the Surabaya District Court.

On the same day, March 4, 2024, Lisa came to the Surabaya District Court to meet with Rudi in the office of the Chief Judge of the Surabaya District Court.

At the meeting, Lisa requested Rudi to appoint Judge Erintuah Damanik, Judge Mangapul, and Judge Heru Hanindyo to adjudicate the case on behalf of Ronald Tannur, who has authorized Lisa Rachmat as his legal advisor.

After meeting with Rudi and still at the Surabaya District Court, Lisa met with Erintuah Damanik to introduce herself as the Legal Advisor for Ronald Tannur. Lisa also mentioned that she had met with Heru Hanindyo and Mangapul, who would also be members of the Panel of Judges in the case, even though the appointment of the Panel of Judges for the criminal case of Ronald Tannur had not yet been established.

"On March 5, 2024, at approximately 14:00 WIB, upon the order of the defendant, Dju Johnson Mira Mangngi, as the Deputy Chair of the Surabaya District Court, issued a Decree for the Appointment of the Panel of Judges in the criminal case against Gregorius Ronald Tannur, Number: 454/Pid.B/2024/PN SBY, with the composition of the Panel of Judges being Erintuah Damanik as the presiding judge and Mangapul and Heru Hanindyo as associate judges," the prosecutor stated.

Rudi then met with Erintuah and, while patting Erintuah on the shoulder, requested to be appointed as the Chair of the panel of judges for Ronald Tannur's case. "Brother, I am appointing you as the Chair of the panel, with Mangapul and Heru Hanindyo as members at Lisa's request," the prosecutor quoted Rudi's words.

During the meeting, Rudi also requested Erintuah not to forget him. This statement was made by Rudi three times to Erintuah. "Please don't forget me, okay?" said the prosecutor.

After the issuance of the Judge Panel Appointment, Lisa met with Rudi again and handed over an envelope containing 43,000 Singapore dollars. Lisa placed the envelope with the money on Rudi's table while saying "thank you."

Lae, I appointed Lae as the Chair of the Council, the members were Mangapul and Heru Hanindyo at Lisa's request.

Rudi then transferred the envelope containing the money into the drawer of his desk. When leaving the office, Rudi moved the envelope containing the money he received from Lisa into a suitcase, which was subsequently placed in Rudi's car.

Not only was he charged with receiving bribes for the case of Ronald Tannur, but Rudi was also charged with receiving gratuities amounting to Rp 1.7 billion, 383,000 US dollars, and 1.09 million Singapore dollars. The total gratuities received amounted to approximately Rp 21 billion.

The prosecutor stated that the gratification is suspected to be related to the handling of cases during Rudi's tenure as the Chief Judge of the Class I A Special Surabaya District Court and as the Chief Judge of the Class I A Special Central Jakarta District Court.

Regarding the acceptance of gratification in the form of a sum of money, Rudi did not report it to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) within the 30-day period following the receipt. Rudi also failed to report the existence of wealth in the form of cash in the State Officials Wealth Report (LHKPN) as stipulated in the law, even though the receipt was without a valid legal basis.

For his actions, Rudi was charged with violating Article 12 letter a in conjunction with Article 12 letter b in conjunction with Article 5 Paragraph 2 in conjunction with Article 11 in conjunction with Article 12B in conjunction with Article 18 of the Corruption Eradication Law in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph 1 number 1 of the Criminal Code.

In response to the indictment read by the public prosecutor, Rudi and his legal counsel did not file an exception. The hearing will continue with the examination of witness statements on Monday, May 26, 2025.