A panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court has sentenced former Transportation Ministry sea transportation director general Antonius Tonny Budiono to five years in prison for accepting bribes related to the issuance of harbor dredging permits.

"[The judges hereby] order the defendant to pay Rp 300 million [US$21,339] in fines or face an additional three months in prison,” said presiding judge Saifuddin Zuhri as quoted by Antara when he read out the verdict in a hearing on Thursday.

Corruption Eradication Commission prosecutors had sought seven years in prison for Tonny, but the judges gave him a lesser sentence following the prosecutors' decision to grant the defendant justice collaborator status.

The former director general stated that he accepted the verdict and would not file for an appeal.

Antonius was declared guilty of accepting Rp 2.3 billion from Adi Putra Kurniawan, a commissioner of dredging company PT Adhi Guna Keruktama, in relation to dredging permits for several harbors where the company operates, including Tanjung Emas Port in Semarang, Central Java.

The businessman is currently serving a four-year prison sentence as he was declared guilty in a separate case.

Graft busters found Adi had agreed to wire the money for the director general to new bank accounts the former had set up under the false identity of Joko Prabowo, a combination of the names of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his political rival Prabowo Subianto.

Antonius was also declared guilty on Thursday of accepting unlawful gifts valued at around Rp 8.42 billion and US$1 million. (kuk/ebf)