Customs Bribery Case: Witness Recounts Meeting Between PT Blueray Cargo Owner and Official

A Customs Clearance Services Entrepreneur (PPJK), Sri Pangastuti, also known as Tuti, has revealed the circumstances of the initial meeting between PT Blueray Cargo owner John Field and a Directorate General of Customs and Excise official, Orlando Hamonangan, nicknamed Ocoy. The testimony was delivered by Tuti as a witness in the trial of alleged import processing bribery with defendant John Field at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Friday (5/6).

During the trial, Tuti explained that the meeting began when John Field invited her to meet Ocoy at the Central Customs Office in Jakarta. ‘Essentially, Mr John invited me to meet Mr Ocoy,’ Tuti stated before the panel of judges. According to Tuti, she subsequently travelled to Jakarta and also wished to see John Field’s office. Before heading to the Central Customs Office, she first met John at the PT Blueray Cargo office.

Following this brief meeting, Tuti contacted Ocoy to confirm whether the customs official was in his office. ‘I asked, “Is Mr Ocoy in the office? I wish to consult. Mr John is coming too,”’ Tuti said. Tuti recounted that she and John Field travelled to the Central Customs Office using their respective vehicles. Upon arrival, she immediately approached security personnel to ask for the location of Ocoy’s room. Shortly thereafter, the meeting between the three took place in Ocoy’s room.

In this case, PT Blueray owner John Field, along with Import Document Team Lead Andri and Operational Manager Dedy Kurniawan, are charged with giving bribes to facilitate PT Blueray Cargo’s import documentation, in order to avoid strict inspections or enforcement action by customs intelligence. ‘Giving or promising something, namely giving money totalling SGD and Rp61,301,939,000, and giving entertainment facilities and luxury goods worth Rp1,845,000,000,’ a KPK prosecutor stated during the trial on Wednesday (6/5). The KPK had scheduled an examination of a civil servant from the Directorate General of Customs and Excise with the initials CMT on Thursday (7/5).