Village Head In Malang Makes Reports To Build Toilets To Gazebo, Apparently The Money Is Covered Up To Hundreds Of Millions

Malang Resort Police (Polres) named the former Head of Wadung Village, Pakisaji District, Malang Regency, East Java with the initials S (68) as a suspect in a suspected corruption case.

Malang Deputy Chief of Police, Kompol Imam Mustolih, said that the alleged corruption committed by suspect S was detrimental to state finances of more than Rp646.2 million.

"The suspect is charged with multiple articles, with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison," said Imam as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, May 16.

Imam explained that the suspect was subject to Article 2 paragraph 1, Article 3 subsidiary Article 8 of Law Number 20 of 2001 for amendments to Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption.

According to him, the corruption crime that cost the state up to Rp646.2 million was carried out in the period 2019 to 2021. Malang Police have examined 11 witnesses, including expert witnesses to investigate the criminal act of corruption.

The police explained that in 2019, Wadung Village in Pakisaji District received Village Funds (DD) and Village Fund Allocation (ADD) of Rp1.42 billion, in 2020 received Rp1.47 billion and 2021 of Rp1.53 billion.

"Based on the audit, there was a bubble as well as an overpayment of several activities that could not be accounted for by the person concerned," he said.

The amount of funds that cannot be accounted for, he continued, in 2019 there was a total of Rp113.44 million, in 2020 it was Rp180.33 million and 2021 it was Rp329.59 million. Overall, there was a fund of Rp646.2 million.

"So the total accumulation from 2019 to 2021, the amount of budget being misused is IDR 646.2 million," he said.

The disclosure, he continued, stems from reports from the public indicating the practice of corruption in Wadung Village. The police confiscated a number of evidences, such as financial reports from several other files.

Malang Police Criminal Investigation Unit Head AKP Gandha Syah Hidayat explained that the suspect used the funds for a number of fictitious activities that could not be accounted for.

"For example, for fictitious activities, the volume of buildings is increased by hundreds of square meters, the construction of bathroom toilets, the purchase of gazebos and others. That cannot be accounted for," he said.

The money from the inflated and fictitious activities was used by the suspect for daily needs. Currently, the police are still tracking the use of other money, including those used for the purchase of assets by the suspect.

"This is fictitious because it cannot be proven by the person concerned. We are still tracking assets that are indicated to use the money that was corrupted," he said.

The suspect, who was the village head in the 2017-2023 period, was arrested by the Malang Police Criminal and Investigation Unit (Satreskrim) on April 25, 2024. Currently, the suspect is being held at the Malang Police Detention Center.