85 village heads accused of graft

INDRAMAYU, West Java: A government official here alleged on Friday that 85 village heads in Indramayu regency had embezzled Rp 557 million (US$58,631) in land and building tax revenue since 2002.

Banani, the head of Indramayu's audit agency, said the amount of money embezzled could be even higher because there were still more sums of money that could not be accounted for.

The alleged embezzlement was brought to light after the audit agency received a report from Indramayu's revenue agency that the amount of land and building taxes paid by residents was unaccountably small.

The audit agency investigated and found that 85 village heads had allegedly embezzled land and building taxes they had collected from residents.

The audit agency is continuing its investigation into the matter. -- JP