Bali’s former tourism chief, Gede Nurjaya, has begun a prison sentence in the island’s Kerobokan jail after being found guilty of corrupt use of state funds. The charges against Nurjaya involved funds allocated for the island’s promotion at World Travel Market.
Nurjaya had been arrested in 2010 after it was alleged he was reimbursed twice via both provincial and national promotional budgets for the costs of booths at the international trade fair in London.
In October 2010 he was given a one-year prison sentence that was successfully appealed to the higher courts in July 2011. Bali prosecutors, however, were unhappy with the result, and appealed the case to the Supreme Court where the original sentence of one year was ratified by the panel of judges.
Nurjaya will be eligible for release in March.
