Councilors make illegal trips

Councilors make illegal trips

SURABAYA: The local police here have begun a preliminary
investigation into 18 provincial councilors who allegedly changed
their official domestic trips to overseas tours, Surabaya
Regional Police detective chief Asst. Supt. Edwin M.B. said on
Thursday.

Among the legislators was head of Commission B for economic
affairs Mahfudz Basya, who later admitted to have "secretly
changed the group's working trips from Medan, Batam and Menado to
overseas travel which included Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand."

"When we reached Batam, we (the 18 councilors) agreed not to
proceed with the working trip and went to Singapore instead," he
said.

The East Java Council paid a total of Rp 153 million for the
trip, or Rp 18.5 million per legislator, police said.

Police, however, were still waiting for an official permit
from the Ministry of Home Affairs to intensively probe the case.
(nur/edt)