Garongan Village Head in Kulon Progo Named Suspect in Illegal Levy Case

Garongan Village Head Ngadiman has been officially named a suspect by investigators from the Kulon Progo Police Criminal Investigation Unit. He is implicated in an alleged illegal levy case. Kulon Progo Police Criminal Investigation Unit Head First Inspector Subihan Afuan Ardhi confirmed the matter. The suspect designation was made today after police conducted a case review. “Correct, he has been named a suspect. As of today,” Subihan said when contacted by journalists on Thursday (18/6/2026). Although he has been named a suspect, Ngadiman has not yet been detained. Police have only scheduled an examination of Ngadiman as a suspect for next week. “Next week we will issue a summons for his examination as a suspect,” he stated. Subihan continued that during the case review, investigators concluded Ngadiman’s actions fulfilled the elements of the Corruption Eradication Law. Consequently, he is charged under Article 12 letter e of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, as amended and supplemented by Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning the Eradication of Corruption. “We have examined two victims so far. However, it is possible there are many more victims with the modus operandi of illegal levies for marriage introduction arrangements in Garongan Village, and we are still investigating this,” he concluded. Previously, a series of mutual police reports occurred between a resident and the Garongan Village Head in Panjatan District, Kulon Progo. The case originated from a resident’s post claiming they were asked for money while processing population administration documents. In the viral social media post, the resident mentioned being asked for Rp500,000 and ultimately giving Rp300,000 to the village head. Garongan Village Head Ngadiman did not deny receiving the Rp300,000. However, he insisted the money was given as a personal gift, not related to his position as village head. “Yes, they offered it. I accepted it because the language, for Javanese people, is ‘tondo tresno’ (a token of affection). It went into my personal account, not the village’s,” Ngadiman told journalists on Tuesday (27/4). Ngadiman also stated at the time that the money did not enter the village treasury. “Oh no, there is none of that. Official duties at the village office still go through the treasurer and assets. That was personal to me,” he continued. According to Ngadiman, he only became aware of the transfer after being informed by the resident. “I didn’t even know when it came in. I was just told, ‘Sir, I’ve done it. Alright, thank you.’ People here call it ‘tondo tresno’, a gift,” he said. Later, after the alleged illegal levy post went viral and was deemed an attack on the village administration, Ngadiman filed a counter-report against the resident concerned. “That was personal to me. But why is it personal? Because his attack seemed to imply my administration was engaged in illegal levies. It was not directed at Ngadiman personally, but at the administration,” he said. Ngadiman claimed the report was made to bring clarity to the matter. “So that with mutual reporting, there will be some kind of confrontation or mediation, so it’s not just one-sided news,” he stated. Some time later, the case was escalated from inquiry to investigation. During this process, police summoned over a dozen witnesses for examination.