Partyforumseasia:  “Vae victis” meant in old Rome “woe to the vanquished or the conquered (ones)“. Being caught red-handed in corruption cases in Southeast Asia these days is getting more and more unpleasant as well. And the decades when politicians could easily get away with it may come to an end after new big scandals in the Philippines and Indonesia generate a bigger public outcry then ever before.
The picture shows former police general Djoko Susilo listening to his verdict in court. With 20 houses and other assets in the names of his second and third wives he was one of the “unusually rich” persons in power. Many politicians could follow him if the anti-corruption drive gets really serious.

But in the ever creative ranks of political entrepreneurs in Indonesia, and the chief justice of the Constitutional Court being indicted in a cash for settling an electoral fraud case, the methods of greasing helpful hands get more sophisticated as well. Instead of gangster-like cash hand-overs, credit cards backed with substantial prepaid accounts or insurance policies with substantial sums for the old age seem to be more difficult to detect.