Mayor Of Tanjungbalai Called Contact KPK Leaders, Dewas: If There Is Evidence, Tell

Illustrated (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The Supervisory Board of the Corruption Eradication Commission (Dewas KPK) is seeking information regarding the suspicion that the Mayor of Tanjungbalai M. Syahrial had contacted the KPK leadership.

Syahrial is currently a suspect in giving bribes to KPK investigator Stepanus Robin Pattuju regarding the handling of a case of buying and selling positions in the Tanjungbalai City Government.

"Dewas will certainly look for and study all information related to suspected irregularities and / or suspected violations of the code of ethics committed by every KPK personnel, including employees, leaders and members of Dewas himself," said Dewas member Syamsuddin Haris when confirmed, Tuesday, April 27.

Meanwhile, Albertina Ho, who is also a member of Dewas, admitted that he had only just learned about the allegations through news coverage in the mass media. Albertina asked anyone with knowledge of this information to immediately report it to Dewas.

"Know from the media. If there is evidence, please convey it to Dewas," said Albertina.

The news that Syahrial had contacted the KPK was conveyed by the Coordinator of the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (MAKI) Boyamin Saiman.

He admitted that he received information that the Mayor of Tanjungbalai, M. Syahrial, had contacted KPK Deputy Chairman Lili Pintauli Siregar regarding the KPK investigation at the Tanjungbalai City Government.

Boyamin said Syahrial tried several times to contact Lili. However, Boyamin said he did not know whether Lili had responded to Syahrial or not. What is certain, Boyamin said, was that Lili should have blocked Syahrial's number because of his position as the head of the anti-corruption agency that was investigating Syahrial's case.

Until this news was released, KPK Deputy Chairman Lili Pintauli had not yet responded to Boyamin's statement. The KPK named its investigator, Stepanus Robin Pattuju, a lawyer named Maskur Husain and the Mayor of Tanjungbalai M. Syahrial as suspects in the alleged bribery case in the handling of the case of sale and purchase of positions at the Tanjungbalai City Government.

Stepanus Robin Pattuju and Maskur Husain are suspected of having received a bribe from M. Syahrial amounting to Rp 1.3 billion from the Rp 1.5 billion deal. The bribe was given so that Stepanus would help stop the investigation into the alleged sale and purchase of positions in Tanjungbalai that the KPK is currently investigating.

Apart from the bribe from Syahrial, Markus Husain is also suspected of receiving Rp 200 million from another party. Meanwhile, Stepanus from October 2020 to April 2021 is also suspected of receiving money from other parties through bank transfer in the name of Riefka Amalia, amounting to IDR 438 million.