Former health minister faces five years jail

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 04/13/2010 5:07 PM

Prosecutors demanded Tuesday that former health minister Achmad Sujudi be sentenced to five years in jail for corruption that caused state losses of Rp 104 billion (US$11.4 million).

Prosecutor Catharina Girsang said Sujudi was responsible for directly appointing PT Kimia Farma Trade and Distribution as the ministry partner in the procurement of health devices distributed to 32 hospitals in East Indonesia in 2003.

Any state procurement should first go through a tender process.

Kimia Farma, furthermore, asked five other firms to provide the health devices ordered by the Health Ministry.