South Sulawesi Police Arrest 5 Suspects For Corruption In Medical Devices At Fatimah Hospital

Director of the Ditreskrimsus Polda Sulsel Kombes Pol Widoni Fedry. ANTARA/Muh Hasanuddin

MAKASSAR - Investigators from the Special Investigation and Criminal Directorate (Ditreskrimsus) of the South Sulawesi Police have arrested five suspects in the alleged corruption case of marking up the procurement of medical equipment for the Mother Anak Anak Siti Fatimah Regional Special Hospital (RSKD) in Jakarta.

Director of the Special Investigation and Criminal Directorate (Direskrimsus) of the South Sulawesi Police, Kombes Widoni Fedry, said the arrests of the five suspects were because they live in Jakarta and the case will be completed soon.

"We have secured the five people because they are domiciled in Jakarta. This is also to facilitate the transfer process later because it is feared that they will run away," he said, quoted by Antara, Thursday, March 10.

He said the five suspects had the initials R, A, S, A, and L. Three of the five suspects were providers of medical devices.

Kombes Pol Widoni stated that there were 10 suspects in the alleged corruption case which resulted in state losses of more than Rp. 93 billion, and five of them were domiciled in Jakarta.

While the other five suspects are working group (Pokja) and commitment making officials (PPK) within the scope of the South Sulawesi Provincial Government. However, Widoni was reluctant to reveal the five suspects from the South Sulawesi Provincial Government.

"The other five suspects are from the Pokja and the provincial PPK," he said.

Widoni added that it was possible that the number of suspects would increase. However, this depends on the development of the investigation.

"It could be that there are more suspects depending on the results of the investigation that will develop later," he said.

The Director of the Anti-Corruption Institute (Laksus) appreciated the performance of the South Sulawesi Police in eradicating corruption, which he considered to be quite fast and successful in handling the case.

"This is proof of the seriousness of the South Sulawesi Police in resolving the alleged corruption case in the procurement of medical equipment at the Fatimah Hospital. Hopefully the police can also handle other cases because there are still many other cases that must be handled," he said.

In handling the case, his party coordinated with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) because the case used a very large budget with a loss of more than Rp. 9.3 billion based on the results of an audit from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).