Former Director of Enforcement and Investigation at the Directorate\nGeneral of Customs and Excise Rizal has denied receiving Rp14 billion\nfrom Blueray Cargo. He also insisted that he had never received\nunofficial payments from anyone, either directly or through\nsubordinates.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegarding the allegation that I knew about and received payments\nfrom witness John Field through witness Orlando, Your Honours, in line\nwith the testimony I have given in open court, I state again, clearly\nand truthfully, in this personal defence plea, that I did not know\nabout, never ordered, and never received money from witness John Field,\nMr Dedi Kurniawan, Mr Andri or any other parties, either directly or\nthrough my subordinates,\u201d Rizal said while reading his personal plea at\nthe Central Jakarta Corruption Court on Friday (30 October 2026).<\/p>\n
Rizal said testimony by Orlando Hamonangan, head of Customs\nIntelligence Section I in the Directorate of Enforcement and\nInvestigation, about the alleged Rp14 billion payment had repeatedly\nchanged. He described Orlando\u2019s testimony as a lie.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour Honours, through this personal defence plea I again firmly and\ntruthfully reject all of witness Orlando Hamonangan\u2019s statements that\nthe prosecution has relied on to allege that I knew about and received\nmoney from John Field. All the statements given by witness Orlando\nHamonangan in court are blatant lies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said he had never used the Special Operational Fund for\nSafeguarding State Revenue (DOKPPN) for personal purposes. He also\ndenied ordering subordinates to seek or use operational funds from\nsources outside the official budget while carrying out the directorate\u2019s\nduties.<\/p>\n
He said testimony from witness Gatot Heroe Hernanda that Rizal had\ninstructed him and witness Sisprian Subiaksono to seek operational funds\noutside the DOKPPN had been disproved in court. Rizal said he had never\ndiscussed, let alone ordered anyone, to seek, collect or use funds from\noutside the state budget (DIPA).<\/p>\n
Rizal said the installation of an exhaust fan was part of an office\nrenovation which, to his knowledge, was funded through the General\nAffairs budget. He also said he understood that tickets for flights\nbetween Jakarta and Jambi had been paid for from the routine budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegarding the purchase of alcoholic drinks for coordination at a\nNational Narcotics Agency (BNN) event, and podcast equipment for Sinkos,\nto my knowledge those items were procured using the DOKPPN, in line with\nmy instructions and message to the P2 team always to use available\nofficial budget allocations for every activity,\u201d Rizal said.<\/p>\n
He added that the expenditure was permissible under the rules because\nthe cleaning was part of coordination and information-gathering for\nintelligence and oversight purposes.<\/p>\n
Rizal asked the panel of judges to acquit him of the charges and the\nprosecution\u2019s demands. He said he had never agreed to abuse his\nauthority.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not know about or commit the acts alleged by the prosecution,\nwhether giving orders or receiving money, gifts or other benefits from\nanyone. Nor did I conspire to abuse my authority by doing or refraining\nfrom doing something for the benefit of individuals or other parties, as\nthe evidence presented in court has shown,\u201d Rizal said.<\/p>\n
He also asked the judges to take into account his polite and\nco-operative conduct during the investigation and trial. He said he had\nconsistently and openly reported all his assets since 2011 through the\nState Officials\u2019 Wealth Report (LHKPN).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe suffering that my family and I have endured during more than\neight months in detention feels sufficient to atone for my shortcomings\nin supervising the integrity of some personnel within my directorate.\nThis is not an admission that I received money or committed the acts\nalleged, because those allegations are untrue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rizal said items he received at a handover event had been reported as\ngratuities within the required period. He also asked the judges to order\nprosecutors to return assets unrelated to the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the first and last case of its kind in my life. During more\nthan 27 years of service as a civil servant, I have never faced\ndisciplinary punishment, let alone a criminal case,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In the bribery and gratuities case, prosecutors have demanded an\n11-and-a-half-year prison sentence, a Rp1 billion fine, with 190 days\u2019\nimprisonment in lieu of payment, and Rp15.7 billion in compensation,\nwith a further four years\u2019 imprisonment in lieu.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rizal-defendant-in-customs-case-denies-receiving-rp14bn-from-cargo-boss-1793339554", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }