Prosecutors Detain 2 Suspects Alleged Corruption Of The Meranti Rengit Strait Bridge

Two suspects are suspected of corruption in the construction of the Rengit Strait Bridge while heading to the Sialang Bungkuk Detention Center, Pekanbaru. (ANTARA/HO-Kejati Riau)

PeKANBARU- Riau High Prosecutor's Office has detained two suspects in the alleged corruption case of the construction of the Rengit Strait Bridge (JSR) in Meranti Islands Regency after being delegated by the Special Criminal Directorate of the Riau Regional Police.

Suspect Dharma Arifiandi as the former General Manager (GM) Division I of Medan PT Nindya Karya and Dupli Juliard is the Budget User Authority (KPA) as well as the Head of Highways of the Meranti Islands Public Works Service (PU) in 2012. They were entrusted to the Pekanbaru Sialang Detention Center.

"Today, the second phase of the Riau Police Investigator is being carried out against suspects with the initials DA and DJ," said Head of Information and Law (Penkum) of the Riau Attorney General's Office, Bambang Heripurwanto, as reported by ANTARA, Monday, July 17.

The case was previously investigated by the Riau Police Ditreskrimsus since 2014. After the file was declared complete, investigators transferred the suspects and evidence to the public prosecutor (JPU).

It appears that the two suspects, wearing orange vests, were led to a car that would take them to custody.

"The two suspects were placed in the Sialang Bungkuk Pekanbaru detention center for the next 20 days," said Bambang.

Furthermore, the Public Prosecutor's Team will prepare the administration of the delegation of case files to the court, including the indictment. "God willing, in the near future the files of the suspects will be transferred to the court," he said.

The bridge project that connects Tebingtinggi Island with Merbau Island is still neglected without any clarity on the continuation of its construction. It is strongly suspected that there were irregularities in the project planning and work process that began in 2012.

The construction of the Rengit Strait Bridge is a "multiyears" (plact year) project with a budget of more than Rp460 billion, namely in 2012 a budget of Rp125 billion, in 2013 a total of Rp235 billion, and in 2014 a amount of Rp102 billion.

This value does not include the supervision costs for the first year of Rp. 2 billion, the second year of Rp. 3.2 billion, and the third year of Rp. 1.6 billion. However, in reality, the project carried out by PT Nindya Karya KSO is incomplete and new in the form of grains.

In the calculation carried out by the Meranti Islands Public Works Agency, the work on the Rengit Strait Bridge was only 17 percent at the end of the work period at the end of 2014. At that time, the cost of offering from the company to complete the construction of the Rengit Strait Bridge amounted to Rp447 billion.

Meanwhile, in accordance with the regulations, the government provided a maximum down payment of 15 percent or around Rp. 67 billion to start building a bridge in 2013.

From the investigation carried out, it is known that there was a state financial loss of Rp42,135,892,352. This figure is known from the results of an audit conducted by the Riau Province Representative Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP).

"Two suspects were charged with Article 2 paragraph (1) in conjunction with Article 3, Jo Article 18 of Law (UU) Number 31 of 1999 as amended and supplemented by Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, Jo Article 55 paragraph (1) 1st of the Criminal Code," concluded Bambang.