Corrupt zoo officials likely to be dismissed

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Two executives of the city-owned Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta will likely lose their jobs for corruption.

City Inspector Hendarin Ono Saleh said on Thursday the zoo's director Ismianto and its general and project manager Allen Marbun were guilty of committing irregularities.

"We found them guilty of conducting the irregularities. We would soon ask the Governor to punish them," Hendarin told reporters.

He gave no details whether the case would be sent to the prosecutors office to establish a criminal offense.

In the past, many officials who have been found guilty by the inspectorate were either dismissed or demoted but never brought before a court.

The Ragunan Zoo was last year rocked by a series of controversial issues, including the gorilla scandal.

The zoo administration was allocated Rp 3.2 billion a year from the city budget to be used for the maintenance and feeding of four male gorillas that were to be loaned from the Port Lympne Animal Park in England.

However, the Gibbon Foundation, which handles the care of the apes, including the food, would have provided everything for free.

The male gorillas' arrival, which was first scheduled in late September last year, was postponed due the anti-U.S. demonstrations here after the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center.

But it was later delayed indefinitely due to the controversy surrounding the gorilla funds.

The council's Commission B for economic affairs had also questioned, among other things, five different rehabilitation projects at the zoo, each costing Rp 500 million.

They also criticized the zoo's toilet upgrade which cost Rp 18.7 billion last year.

The city allocated Rp 27 billion to the zoo last year while this year it plans to allocate Rp 52 billion.

After all the criticisms, Allen Marbun reportedly tried to bribe the councillors with Rp 90 million when they were inspecting the zoo.