Indonesian court hands Napoleon Bonaparte four-year sentence for accepting bribes

The accused, an Indonesian police officer with the rank of general, is not to be confused with the French military and political leader of the same name.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

11 March, 2021

Napoleon Bonaparte removed a known fugitive from an Interpol red list [AFP]

A court in Jakarta has sentenced Napoleon Bonaparte to four years in prison for corruption.

The accused, a high-ranking Indonesian police officer, is not to be confused with the French military and political leader of the same name, who ruled over much of continental Europe in the early 19^th century.

Bonaparte was convicted of accepted two bribes, worth 370,000 and 200,000 Singapore dollars ($140,000) each, from a known fugitive.

In exchange, Gen. Bonaparte and another police officer who was also jailed for accepting bribes, cancelled a red notice issue by Interpol for Djoko Tjandra.

Tjandra, who was wanted for the embezzlement of funds in Bali bank, was allowed to bypass immigration authorities when he returned to Indonesia after 11 years. He was finally arrested in Malaysia last July.

For his part, Napoleon Bonaparte dismissed the verdict as "personal harassment" and announced a plan to appeal, according to Jakarta Globe.

"I would rather die than to have my family’s honour harassed like this. I reject the verdict and will lodge an appeal,” he told the anti-corruption justice panel.

In addition to prison time, Bonaparte was ordered to pay a fine worth thousands of US dollars. Napoleon Bonaparte retains the rank of general in the Indonesian police force.