Inp.polri.go.id - Semarang. The Head of the Anesthesiology Study Program at Diponegoro University’s Faculty of Medicine, Taufik Eko Nugroho, was sentenced to two years in prison for extorting specialist medical students (PPDS) between 2018 and 2023. 

The Semarang District Court’s ruling on Wednesday (1/9/2025)was lighter than the three-year prison term sought by prosecutors.

“The defendant has been found guilty of violating Article 368 Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code on joint and continuous extortion,” presiding judge Muhammad Djohan Arifin declared in court, as quoted by antaranews.com

Judges found Nugroho had ordered residents to pay so-called operational fees, which over five years accumulated to Rp2.49 billion (around USD 150,000). The court noted a hierarchical power imbalance that left students unable to refuse payments. 

A staff member, Sri Maryani, who received the funds, was sentenced to nine months in prison. In a related case, resident doctor Zara Yupita Azra also received a nine-month sentence for extorting junior colleagues. Both defendants and prosecutors are considering appeals.

(mg/inp/pr/rs)