3 Suspects Of Corruption Of Bunting Cattle Detained By The West Sumatra Prosecutor's Office

The Head of the West Sumatra High Prosecutor's Office, Asnawi, gave a press statement before detaining three suspects in the alleged corruption case of a bunting cow, in Padang, Tuesday (25/7/2023). ANTARA/Fathul Abdi

The West Sumatra High Prosecutor's Office (Kejati) has detained three more suspects in the alleged corruption case in the procurement of bunting cattle for the 2021 fiscal year which cost Rp35 billion.

"Today, three other suspects have been detained again, they are partners in thefeeding project," said Head of the West Sumatra Attorney General's Office Asnawi in Padang as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, July 25.

He said the suspects with the initials PRS, WI, and AIA were charged with Article 2 paragraph (1) in conjunction with Article 3 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption.

According to him, the detention was carried out after the three suspects, one of whom was a PRS woman who came to the West Sumatra Prosecutor's Office to fulfill the investigator's summons.

The suspects had been questioned by the West Sumatra Prosecutor's Office investigator team since Tuesday afternoon, then escorted out of the prosecutor's prison vest at around 17.30 WIB with his face down.

According to Asnawi, with the detention of the three suspects, the investigators will then complete the file so that the case can be immediately transferred to the court.

In the same case, the total number of suspects is six people, but the other three suspects have been detained first by the West Sumatra Prosecutor's Office on Friday (14/7).

They are DM as the power user of the budget (KPA) and FH as the technical implementing officer of the activity (PPTK), both of whom are state apparatus members of the West Sumatra Province Livestock Service.

Meanwhile, one suspect in line is the Director of CV Emir Darul Hasan with the initials AAP as a partner in the bunting cattle procurement project. Asnawi, who was accompanied by the Special Criminal Assistant, Hadiman, explained that the case began when the West Sumatra Animal Husbandry and Health Service procured 2,082 bunting cows.

The procurement of the bunting cattle was initially rolled out by the local provincial government with the aim of increasing the population of livestock in West Sumatra, even in the initial contract for the procurement of bribes, it had to be imported from outside the province.

The project, with the name the provision of seeds or livestock seeds and green feed for livestock, was carried out in the 2021 fiscal year with a ceiling of Rp. 35,017,340 billion, with details of 1,572 local cattle and 510 SHIPcrossings, which were poured into five work contract packages, and carried out by four different companies.

On its way, it turned out that there was a change in the contract (adendum) to replace the cow, which was originally a pregnant cow to a virgin cow.

"The cows were also purchased in the West Sumatra area, this action of course thwarted the government's mission to increase the population of livestock. We even found indications of price inflation," he said.

From the results of the calculation, it is known that the state losses due to the case reached Rp7.3 billion.

"The West Sumatra Prosecutor's Office will investigate this case thoroughly, anyone involved will be charged with legal processing," said Asnawi.