Criminal Liability of Company Employees for Occupational Embezzlement: A Study of Decision Number 168/Pid.B/2023/PN Tdn

Abstract

This study examines the criminal liability of company employees, the application of Article 374 of the Indonesian Criminal Code, and the substantive justice and proportionality of sentencing in Tanjungpandan District Court Decision Number 168/Pid.B/2023/PN Tdn. It employs doctrinal legal research using statutory, case, and conceptual approaches. Legal materials are analyzed qualitatively and prescriptively through grammatical, systematic, and teleological interpretation. The findings demonstrate that criminal liability is individual and requires proof of the offense, culpability, capacity for criminal responsibility, and the absence of justification or excuse. Article 374 was properly applied because the property initially came lawfully into the employee’s possession through employment but was subsequently appropriated intentionally and unlawfully. Although the sentence of one year and ten months reflected an attempt to balance the victim’s and defendant’s interests, the judicial reasoning did not assign measurable weight to the breach of trust, repeated conduct, loss, and partial restitution. This study recommends more systematic sentencing parameters to strengthen consistency, proportionality, and victim-oriented reparation.