West Sumatra Prosecutor's Office Announces 12 Corruption Suspects To The Padang-Pekanbaru Toll Road

PADANG - The West Sumatra High Prosecutor's Office (Kejati) announced that 12 suspects in the corruption case in land acquisition for the Padang-Pekanbaru toll road construction.

"Today, the West Sumatra Special Criminal Investigation Team officially summoned 12 suspects for questioning," said West Sumatra Attorney General's Intelligence Assistant Eka Saputra as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, October 23.

He said of the 12 suspects, 11 came to fulfill the summons. While one other suspect is known to have died.

The eleven suspects who fulfilled the summons from the West Sumatra Prosecutor's Office investigator team, namely Sy as the Head of Land Procurement Implementation (P2T), and Y as a member of P2T. Both are officials of the local National Land/Agrarian and Spatial Planning Agency (BPN/ATR).

Meanwhile, the other nine suspects were residents who received compensation, namely M, B, Z, AM, MN, A, S, S, and Z.

"After examining the suspect and sufficient preliminary evidence, the investigator will detain him," said Efedri, who was accompanied by the Head of the Investigation Section, Lexy Fatharani.

Especially for the two suspects with the background of the state civil apparatus (ASN) BPN/ATR were detained at the Class II B Padang State Detention Center (Rutan).

He explained the reason for subjective detention for fear of the suspect running away, eliminating evidence, or repeating a criminal act. Meanwhile, the objective reason is the crime that ensnared the two suspects in the form of a sentence that was threatened with five years in prison or more.

Meanwhile, of the other nine suspects, he said, investigators determined the city's detention because the team was trying to recover state finances, besides that they were considered cooperative since the first summons on October 17, 2024.

The case began when there was a land acquisition project for the Padang-Pekanbaru toll road builder, section of the Nako Besar-Sicincin-Lubuk Alung-Padang in Padang Pariaman Regency in 2020.

The state then prepared money as payment for land compensation affected by the toll road construction.

In the land acquisition process, the suspect continued to process land acquisition for the Padang-Pekanbaru toll road project four times, namely in February and March 2021.

In fact, he said, there had been a notification from Assistant III of the local Regency Government stating that the land that would be compensated was local government assets, not individual property.

As a result of the actions of suspects S and Y, it ultimately caused state financial losses of Rp27 billion, according to the results of an audit from the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP).

The suspect's actions have also enriched 10 people who received compensation, even though they are not the party who should receive compensation payments from the state.

The investigative team charged the suspects with primary violation of Article 2 paragraph (1), Juncto (Jo) Article 18 of Law 32 of 1999 concerning the eradication of criminal acts of corruption, Jo 55 paragraph (1) 1st of the Criminal Code, and subsidiary to Article 3 Jo 18 of the Corruption Crime Act, Jo Article 55 paragraph (1) 1st of the Criminal Code.

In another part, the determination of the suspect is currently an investigation of volume two carried out by the West Sumatra Prosecutor's Office on the same project.

In the previous investigation, there were 13 suspects who are now convicts and are serving sentences in prison.