Romi Herton (19 April 1965 – 28 September 2017) was an Indonesian politician and businessman who served as the mayor of

Palembang Palembang (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River in the ea ...

. He served actively between 2013 and 2014, and remained formally a mayor until 2015 when he was removed from his post. Before becoming mayor, he had been the deputy mayor for five years. Born in

Lampung Lampung, officially the Province of Lampung (; ), is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra. It has a short border with the province of Bengkulu to the northwest, and a longer border with the provi ...

, Herton was a member of

PDI-P The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (, PDI-P) is a centre to centre-left secular-nationalist political party in Indonesia. Since 2014, it has been the ruling and largest party in the House of Representatives (DPR), having won 110 seats ...

. In 2015, he was sentenced to six years in prison for bribing

Akil Mochtar Akil Mochtar (born 18 October 1960) is a convicted former-Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia that was indicted for his acceptance of bribery for an election dispute case, prompting President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ...

in an electoral dispute. He died due to a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

during his sentence.

Background

Romi Herton was born in the city of

Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

on 19 April 1965. He is married to Masyito, and the couple has four children. After Herton's tenure, his sister Fitrianti Agustinda would become the deputy mayor of

Career

Herton started his career as a civil servant for the

South Sumatra South Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the southeast of the island of Sumatra. The capital and largest city of the province is the city of Palembang. The province borders the provinces of Jambi to the north ...

provincial government. He later resigned and became a businessman, operating fuel stations among other businesses. Entering politics in 2008, he ran as the running mate to Eddy Santana Putra in Palembang's 2008 mayoral election, winning the four-candidate race. After five years, he ran as mayor in the 2013 election with Harnojoyo as his running mate. Following the election, the

General Elections Commission The General Elections Commission (, abbreviated as KPU) is the body that organises elections in Indonesia. Its responsibilities include deciding which parties can contest elections, organising the voting and announcing the results and seats won ...

declared his opponent Sarimuda the winner with him having won 316,923 votes to Herton's 316,915. Herton then went to the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

, which ruled in his favor, with Herton ending up with an advantage of 23 votes. Herton was eventually sworn in as mayor by governor

Alex Noerdin Alex Noerdin (born 9 September 1950) is a former Governor of South Sumatra between 2008 and 2018. He was born in Palembang Palembang (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is th ...

on 21 July 2013. Herton was also the head of

's branch in Palembang. He was made a suspect by the

Corruption Eradication Commission The Corruption Eradication Commission (), abbreviated as KPK, is an Indonesian government agency established to prevent and fight corruption in the country. History Background Anti-corruption efforts began in Indonesia in the 1950s. Followin ...

along with his wife in June 2014 for bribing

judge

in order to rule in his favor in the electoral dispute. He was sentenced to six years in prison on 9 March 2015, while his wife received a four-year sentence. Due to the investigation, he was initially deactivated from his position with his deputy Harnojoyo becoming acting mayor. Following his conviction, he was officially removed from his post in August 2015.

Prison and death

Herton was initially imprisoned in

Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...

, but in 2017 he was moved to a prison in

Bogor Bogor City (), or Bogor (, ), is a landlocked city in the West Java, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.

. On early morning, 28 September, he experienced breathing difficulties and was rushed to a hospital in

South Tangerang South Tangerang () is a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the southwestern border of Jakarta, the city forms part of the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area. It was administratively separated from Tangerang Regency on 26 Novemb ...

, but he was declared dead upon arrival due to

. He was buried the following day in Palembang.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herton, Romi 1965 births 2017 deaths 21st-century mayors of places in Indonesia Indonesian Muslims Indonesian politicians People from Metro (city) People from Palembang Indonesian politicians convicted of corruption Mayors of Palembang