Former Banten councillors detained
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post/Tangerang
Banten prosecutors have detained four former councillors after a nine-hour questioning session on Thursday over their alleged involvement in the misuse of Rp 14 billion (US$1.56 million) of public funds last year.
The suspects are former council speaker Dharmono K. Lawi, his deputy Muslim Jamaludin, secretary Tardian, and former secretary of the council's budget committee Tuti Sutiah Indra.
Head prosecutor Kemas Yahya Rahman said one more person thought to be connected with the case had not yet been detained. The office had yet to secure a permit to question former deputy speaker Mufrodi Muchsin, who was now a House of Representatives' member, Kemas said.
By law, a permit from the Minister of Home Affairs is required to question and to detain a legislator, something anticorruption activists have long criticized.
The case regards the misappropriation of a total of Rp 14 billion from the 2003 council budget fund to establish a councillors' housing compound.
"The suspects were responsible for the budget spending. However, when the new council members for the 2004-2009 period started work in October, no trace of the housing compound existed," Kemas said.
He said prosecutors' investigations would be complete by Dec. 20 and the result submitted to the court.
If found guilty for the offense, the former councillors could face a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Meanwhile in Tangerang, a graft case involving a former member of the Tangerang regional council was sent to court on Thursday.
Harun Al Rasyid, of the Justice and Unity Party (PKP), is accused of misusing a state subsidy of Rp 3.3 billion for education.
The investigators found the council had required the social affairs agency, which was supposed to finance the development of education, to instead funnel the money to each of the 11 council factions.
"There was never any report on the use of the money that should have been handed directly to the schools by the agency," head fraud squad prosecutor Anwarudin Sulistiyo said.
He did not say whether other councillors would be charged over the affair.