Several heads of departments within the Pekalongan Regency\nGovernment, Central Java, were allegedly extorted for money by the\ninactive Regent, Fadia Arafiq, to cover Eid al-Fitr holiday allowances\n(THR) and birthday celebrations.<\/p>\n
\u2018There were requests for money for THR, birthdays, and year-end\nfunds,\u2019 stated the Head of the Public Works and Spatial Planning\nDepartment, Murdiar $ ext{arso}$, while testifying as a witness in the\ncorruption case trial involving defendant Fadia Arafiq at the Semarang\nCorruption Court on Friday.<\/p>\n
According to the witness, the requests for money, which were\ncommunicated through the Head of the Economic Division, Siti Hanikatun,\ntook place from 2022 to 2025. The witness admitted to providing varying\namounts of money; for the Regent\u2019s birthday, he contributed Rp5 million\nand Rp15 million. For the Eid allowance, Murdiarso admitted to\ndepositing Rp15 million annually, while year-end funds ranged between\nRp15 million and Rp25 million per year. Murdiarso stated that the funds\nprovided to the Regent were sourced from his personal finances.<\/p>\n
A similar situation was experienced by the Head of the Education and\nCulture Department of Pekalongan Regency, Kholid. \u2018The aide-de-camp was\nthe one making the requests, and the amounts were predetermined,\u2019 he\nsaid during the trial presided over by Chief Judge Rightmen Situmorang.\nKholid stated that between 2023 and 2025, the total amount deposited\nreached Rp240 million. He added that the funds were requested for the\nRegent\u2019s Eid, birthday, and year-end needs, noting that the amounts were\nset based on the perceived \u2018size\u2019 of the respective departments.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pekalongan-regency-heads-extorted-for-eid-bonuses-and-regents-birthday-amounts-range-from-rp5-25-million-1785495507", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }