Chinese National Yu Hao, Who Caused State Losses of Rp1.020 Trillion Due to Illegal Gold Mining, is Acquitted

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Pontianak High Court or PT Pontianak has been in the spotlight after acquitting a foreign national (WNA) from China, Yu Hao, 49 years old, in an case. In the appeal decision, the panel of judges overturned the sentence of 3.6 years in prison and a fine of Rp30 billion imposed by the Ketapang District Court.

"Declaring that the defendant Yu Hao was not legally and convincingly proven guilty of committing the crime of mining without a permit as in the single indictment of the public prosecutor," read the verdict of the panel of judges which was read on Monday, January 13, 2025.

The verdict has now received attention from the Judicial Commission (KY). Member and spokesperson for the KY, Mukti Fajar Nur Dewata, said that the KY invites the public to report any irregularities in the PT Pontianak verdict against Yu Hao. His party will investigate the case.

"To report alleged violations of the Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Judges' Conduct (KEPPH) by the panel of judges handling this case along with supporting evidence," said Mukti in a written statement, Friday, January 17, 2025.

According to Mukti, reports from the public will be responded to by the KY in accordance with applicable procedures. The follow-up carried out by the KY will focus on the conclusion of whether or not there are alleged violations of the code of ethics by high judges at PT Pontianak.

"The public can report if there are alleged violations of the judge's code of ethics accompanied by supporting evidence, so that later the report can be followed up by the KY in accordance with existing procedures," said Mukti.

Chronology of the Yu Hao illegal gold mining case

The Yu Hao illegal gold mining case was revealed after the Civil Servant Investigation Team (PPNS) of the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal discovered illegal mining activities in the IUP area belonging to PT BRT and PT SPM which were under maintenance. At that time, the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal together with the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police arrested Yu Hao.

"PPNS Minerba accompanied by Korwas PPNS Bareskrim Polri found the use of a tunnel that is currently under maintenance and does not have a production operation permit," said Director of Engineering and Environment of the Directorate General of Minerba Sunindyo Suryoherdadi at his office, Tebet, South Jakarta, Saturday, May 11, 2024.

In the activities at the mine, he said, the Chinese national carried out production, namely taking gold ore at the location including processing and refining which was carried out in the tunnel. The results of the refining work in the tunnel were taken out of the hole in the form of gold dore/bullion.

"Temporary findings, illegal gold mining holes with a total length of 1,648.3 meters with a temporary calculated volume of 4,467.3 square meters," he said.

Meanwhile, Yu Hao is suspected of coordinating more than 80 Chinese Foreign Workers or TKA in the illegal mining operation. The mode is to utilize the tunnel that should be under maintenance to carry out active mining, including the use of explosives and gold refining at the location.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources or ESDM recorded state losses reaching Rp1.020 trillion from the loss of gold reserves of 774.27 kilograms and silver of 937.7 kilograms due to illegal mining. The results of sample tests showed a very high gold content, reaching 337 grams per ton in the ground stone sample.

After being brought to court, in the indictment of the Public Prosecutor or JPU, Yu Hao was suspected of having carried out mining activities without a permit in the period February 2024 - May 2024. The prosecutor charged him with violating Article 158 of Law No. 3 of 2009 with a prison sentence of 5 years and a fine of Rp50 billion.

The Ketapang District Court then sentenced him to 3.6 years in prison and a fine of Rp30 billion. Although the sentence was lighter than the JPU's demands, Yu Hao did not accept it. He then filed an appeal until he was finally acquitted by the Pontianak High Court panel of judges, Isnur Syamsul Arif, Eko Budi Supriyanto, and Pransis Sinaga.

Jihan Ristiyanti and Bagus Pribadi contributed to the writing of this article.

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