Former Acting Regent of Central Maluku Named Suspect in Clean Water Project Corruption
The Maluku High Prosecutor’s Office (Kejati Maluku) has named the former Acting Regent of Central Maluku, Muhammad Marasabessy, as a suspect in a corruption case concerning a clean water project on Haruku Island for the 2020 fiscal year, valued at Rp12.4 billion.
The alleged corruption occurred while the suspect was serving as the Head of the Maluku Provincial Public Works and Public Housing Office (Dinas PUPR) for the 2020-2021 period.
Muhammad Marasabessy, also known as Mat, attended a summons from the Maluku High Prosecutor’s Office to provide testimony as a witness. However, after being interrogated for four hours and facing fourteen questions, Mat was named a suspect and immediately escorted to a detention vehicle wearing an orange vest and handcuffed.
The Assistant for Special Crimes (Aspidsus) of the Maluku High Prosecutor’s Office, Radit Parulian, stated that there are a total of seven suspects detained during August in the Haruku Island clean water corruption case. The seven suspects include contractor Noval, Head of Infrastructure Creation Nur Madas, Head of PKP Ela Sopalauw, former Head of Infrastructure Creation Andriani, Head of UPTD Anita Muin, and the Director of PT Kusuma Jaya Abadi, Dwi Priambada Kurniawan.
“The detention of Mat Marasabessy meets the requirements of two pieces of evidence, bringing the total number of suspects to seven,” he said at the Maluku High Prosecutor’s Office building on Monday (31/8).
The case began when the project to develop clean water infrastructure in the Haruku Island District, Central Maluku Regency, was funded through a loan from the Maluku Provincial Government to PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI) as part of the National Economic Recovery (PEN) programme following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The total budget allocation was Rp12.4 billion. Following the tender process, the project was awarded to PT Kusuma Jaya Abadi with a contract value of Rp12,483,909,000.
From the initial stages, the project was found to be non-compliant with regulations, including the absence of a planning consultant. Furthermore, work locations were reportedly changed frequently without adequate planning support.
Additionally, contract addendums were performed repeatedly without Contract Change Order (CCO) documents or technical justifications. Furthermore, progress payments reached one hundred per cent even though physical work progress had not been completed. It was also discovered that work progress documents were falsified to appear as though they met the requirements for fund disbursement.
Even the work achievement documents were fabricated to suggest that the work weight had been achieved, despite the physical conditions on the ground failing to meet the necessary requirements. As a result of these actions, state losses have reached Rp3.8 billion.