Duri Kepa Village Borrows Money From Residents, DPRD: It's Against Ethics

JAKARTA - Member of the PDIP faction of the DKI DPRD, Gembong Warsono, admitted that he was surprised why the Duri Kepa Village, Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta could borrow money from residents. He said it violated the ethics of government agencies.

In this case, Kelurahan Duri Kepa through its treasurer, Devi, borrowed money from a resident named Sandra to pay the honorarium for RT/RW and village debts.

"It's against ethics because normally it's not included, it's not allowed. There's no such thing as borrowing from ordinary people," said Gembong when contacted, Friday, October 29.

Gembong emphasized that the state apparatus should serve the people, not borrow money. Even if for reasons of agency needs, it is still not allowed.

"Cook we have to serve them, instead we borrow money from them? It's not funny. So, there are no rules that allow it. If you say there is a delay, it's the responsibility of the provincial government. You can't have the initiative (borrow) like that," said Gembong.

Therefore, Gembong asked the DKI Inspectorate to investigate this problem. Because, he suspected that there was abuse of authority of village officials. "This must be investigated because there must be irregularities. However, where the fraud is, it must be investigated," he said.

For information, a resident of Cibodas Subdistrict, Tangerang City named Sandra Komala Dewi reported Duri Kepa Village Head, Marhali to the Tangerang City Metro Police on suspicion of fraud and embezzlement of money.

In this case, Kelurahan Duri Kepa borrowed money from Sandra amounting to Rp264.5 billion and has not been returned until now. Sandra did not accept that she finally reported to the police.

Initially, the treasurer of Duri Kepa Village, Devi Ambarsari contacted him, claiming that his village needed money to pay the RT/RW honorarium and village debts.

Then in May and June 2021, Sandra sent money to the accounts of the RT/RW, as well as the accounts of Duri Kepa Village in stages with a total of Rp264.5 million.

In the agreement, every refund paid by Duri Kepa Village will be added a fee of 10 percent of the nominal money deposited.

However, so far this debt has not been repaid. Finally, on October 25, 2021, Sandra reported Lurah Duri Kepa Marhali on suspicion of fraud and embezzlement of money (Article 378 and/or 372 of the Criminal Code).

Sandra reported Marhali because of the statement letter made by Devi on behalf of Kelurahan Duri Kepa. He has also pocketed a number of evidences, such as proof of transfers to each RT and Kelurahan and a statement from Devi.