Bobby Nasution's Subordinates to Face Trial at Medan Corruption Court in Road Project Case

JAKARTA - The former Head of the Public Works and Housing Agency (PUPR) of North Sumatra Province, Topan Obaja Putra Ginting, also known as Topan Ginting, will soon face trial for alleged bribery in road construction projects at the PUPR Agency and projects at the North Sumatra Region 1 Public Works and Housing Agency (Satker PJN).

KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo stated that the public prosecutor (JPU) has submitted the files of Topan and two other suspects, Rasuli Effendi Siregar, Head of the Gunung Tua Technical Implementation Unit (UPTD) of the PUPR Agency of North Sumatra Province and also the Commitment Making Officer (PPK), and Heliyanto, the PPK of the North Sumatra Region 1 Public Works and Housing Agency (Satker PJN), to the Medan Corruption Court. They will soon be tried in this case.

"The KPK prosecutors have transferred the alleged corruption case related to bribery in a road construction project at the Public Works and Housing Agency (PUPR) of Sumatra Province and a project at the North Sumatra Region 1 Public Works and Housing Agency (Satker PJN) to the Medan Corruption Court, under the names of suspects Topan Obaja Ginting, Rasuli, and Heliyanto," KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo told reporters in a written statement on Wednesday, November 12.

"We will then await the panel's determination regarding the trial schedule," he continued.

Budi stated that the trial will be held in public, allowing the public to monitor the judicial process.

"The KPK invites the public to participate in the trial as a form of public involvement in eradicating corruption," he emphasized.

As previously reported, the KPK conducted a sting operation (OTT) in North Sumatra on Thursday, June 26. The alleged bribery involved a road construction project in the province.

From this coercive effort, the Corruption Eradication Commission then named Topan Obaja Putra Ginting or Topan Ginting as the Head of the PUPR Office of North Sumatra Province as a suspect along with four other people. They are Rasuli Effendi Siregar as the Head of the Gunung Tua UPTD of the PUPR Office of North Sumatra Province concurrently the Commitment Making Officer (PPK); Heliyanto as the PPK of the PJN Work Unit Region I of North Sumatra Province; M. Akhirun Efendi Siregar as the President Director of PT DNG; and M. Rayhan Dulasmi Pilang as the Director of PT RN.

Topan has been in the spotlight since he was inaugurated as Head of the Public Works and Public Housing Agency on February 24th by North Sumatra Governor Bobby Nasution. He previously served as Head of the Public Works Agency (PUPR), or the Medan City Water Resources, Highways, and Construction Agency, and served as Acting Regional Secretary of Medan when the son-in-law of the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia was Mayor of Medan.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has uncovered six road construction projects with a budget of Rp231.8 billion suspected of involving bribery. The details are as follows:

1. Preservation of the Simpang Kota Pinang-Gunung Tua-Simpang Pal XI Road in 2023 (project value Rp56.5 billion);

2. Preservation of the Simpang Kota Pinang-Gunung Tua-Simpang Pal XI Road in 2024 (project value Rp17.5 billion);

3. Rehabilitation of the Simpang Kota Pinang-Gunung Tua-Simpang Pal XI Road and landslide mitigation in 2025;

4. Preservation of the Kota Pinang-Gunung Tua-Pal XI Intersection Road by 2025;

5. Construction of the Sipiongoit Road on the Labusel border (project value IDR 96 billion); and

6. Construction of the Hutaimbaru-Sipiongot Road (project value IDR 61.8 billion).