Ex-Regent Of Tabanan Self-Defense In Court: Not A Single Witness Said I Asked The Contractor For Money

The former regent of Tabanan Eka Wiryastuti (right) gets into a detention car after attending a hearing at the Denpasar Corruption Court, Tuesday (16/8/2022). ANTARA/Genta Tenri Mawangi

DENPASAR - Tabanan Regent for the 2016–2021 period, Eka Wiryastuti, when reading his defense memorandum before the Panel of Judges at the Denpasar Corruption Court, Bali, Tuesday, believed that he was not involved in the bribery case of the Tabanan Regency Regional Incentive Fund (DID) for Fiscal Year 2018.

He said that he had never asked former staff, especially I Dewa Nyoman Wiratmaja, to contact two former officials of the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) and asked for an additional DID Tabanan allocation for the 2018 Fiscal Year.

"Not a single witness stated that I had ordered I Dewa Nyoman Wiratmaja to ask for money from partners/contractors, and to give money to Yaya Purnomo and Rifa Surya for the management of the DID," Eka said at the trial reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, August 16.

Dewa Wiratmaja is currently a defendant in a bribery case for the administration of the Tabanan DID. According to the indictment and demands of the KPK prosecutor at the previous trial, Dewa was Eka's intermediary to bribe Yaya Purnomo and Rifa Surya who were officials at the Ministry of Finance at the time.

At that time, Yaya served as Head of the Section for the Development of Funding for Housing and Settlement Areas at the Ministry of Finance, while Rifa Surya served as Head of the Section for Special Physical Allocation Funds II at the Ministry of Finance.

Eka at the trial emphasized that even though Dewa was a special staff at that time, he was not a representative of the regent or Eka personally.

He said Dewa was only a staff member who provided input to the regent regarding economic and tax issues. However, in some cases, Dewa also helps Eka take care of her personal affairs, including divorce matters in Jakarta.

"What is clear is that I have never introduced the person concerned as my representative as the Regent of Tabanan," said Eka Wiryastuti.

In his defense memorandum, he stated that the allegations of bribery submitted by the prosecutor in his indictment related to the management of the DID were unfounded because the allocation of DID was regulated based on the achievement of regional government performance.

“To my knowledge, DID is purely based on Tabanan's performance achievements. And in 2016, Tabanan has received a reward (award) for achieving the best performance and planning, namely Pangripta Nusantara (Best Planning in the Archipelago),” said the former Tabanan Regent.

Meanwhile, Eka's Legal Advisory Team in their memorandum of defense stated that all of the prosecutor's charges were not proven because according to them there was no term of representation or representation in criminal law.

"The fact of the trial is that there was not a single witness who explained the role of Mrs. Eka in ordering let alone bribing (two former Ministry of Finance officials)," said the Coordinator of Eka's Legal Counsel Team, I Gede Wija Kusuma when met after the trial.

Therefore, the legal advisory team requested the panel of judges to release Eka from all charges and demands of the prosecutor.

Eka also conveyed the request directly.

"To the Honorable Panel of Judges, I would like to convey that I am purely serving and trying my best for the region," said the former Tabanan Regent, who was heard holding back tears as he read his pledo.

The prosecutor at the previous trial demanded the panel of judges to sentence Eka to 4 years in prison and a fine of Rp. 110 million or to replace him with 3 months in prison. The prosecutor also asked the panel of judges to revoke Eka's political rights for 5 years.

In his indictment, the prosecutor believes that Eka is guilty of committing or participating in the criminal act of bribery against two former officials of the Ministry of Finance for the management of the Tabanan DID allocation for the 2018 Fiscal Year. The total value of bribes is Rp600 million and US$55,300, or around Rp1.4 billion.