Indonesian ex-dictator Suharto's brother sentenced to four years in jail

Indonesia's Supreme Court upheld an earlier ruling and sentenced the half brother of ex-dictator Suharto to four years in prison in a multimillion-dollar corruption scandal, a court official said Tuesday. Probosutedjo, found guilty Monday of enriching himself or others, was also ordered to pay the state more than US$11 million (Ђ9 million), said Ridwan Mansyur, a Jakarta court spokesman.

It was not clear when Probosutedjo would be sent to prison, said Mashudi Ridwan, a spokesman for the Attorney General's office, noting that he still had the right to seek a judicial review or a presidential pardon.

Probosutedjo, 74, cost the government more than US$10 million (Ђ8.4 million) in losses through the abuse of reforestation funds between 1994 and 1997.

The Central Jakarta District Court sentenced him to four years in prison in 2003, but a higher court reduced the sentence to two.

Suharto, who reportedly embezzled US$600 million in state assets during his 32 years in power, was forced to step down after months of student protests on May 21, 1998. His trial on graft charges was shelved on the grounds of poor health, reports the AP. I.L.