A Denpasar High Court appeal by I Gede Nurjaya, Bali’s former head of the provincial tourism, has resulted in his acquittal from corruption charges.
Nurjaya was arrested in October 2010 for mishandling tourism promotional funds in connection with the World Travel Market in London.
He was subsequently sentenced to one year in prison, fined US$5,700 and ordered to pay US$5,555 in compensation to the government.
Bali Update, (www.balidiscovery.com), quoting The Bali Post, reported that the appeal court declared that the lower court had failed “to finally and convincingly prove that Nurjaya had committed the corruption with which he was originally chargedâ€.
The appeal court ordered that all rights, privileges and positions enjoyed by Nurjaya prior to his incarceration and conviction be restored and that he be immediately released from prison.
The Public Prosecutors have indicated that they will seek to appeal the acquittal to the Supreme Court.
