JAKARTA ~ A one-star police general was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment this week for accepting a bribe of more than US$27,000 while investigating a corruption case.

The South Jakarta District Court found Brigadier General Samuel Ismoko guilty of corruption for having accepted travelers checks worth Rp250 million ($27,000) from Adrian Waworuntu, a defendant in the case.

Waworuntu was sentenced in March to life in prison for his role in defrauding Bank Negara Indonesia of Rp1.7 trillion.

Prosecutors had recommended a three-year term for Ismoko, who was a detective with the national police’s economic crime unit when he accepted the bribe.

His immediate supervisor, Suyitno Landung, a three-star general, is also on trial.

Indonesia is among the world’s most graft-prone countries, according to Germany-based watchdog Transparency International.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made fighting corruption one of his key priorities since coming to power almost two years ago.