HI employees report board to KPK for alleged graft

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Former employees of Hotel Wisata and Hotel Indonesia reported on Thursday the directors of state-owned PT Hotel Indonesia Nature (HIN) to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for allegedly taking their pension funds.

PT HIN manages a number of state-owned hotels including Hotel Indonesia (HI) and Hotel Wisata on Jl. Thamrin in Jakarta as well as other hotels in Yogyakarta, Medan in North Sumatra and Denpasar in Bali.

Former employee coordinator Imam Kurmen said on Thursday at the KPK office on Jl. Veteran, Central Jakarta that PT HIN's board of directors embezzled pension funds worth Rp 3.7 billion (US$381,443) for former employees of HI and Hotel Wisata.

Imam said the funds should have been distributed to some 1,115 former employees of HI and Hotel Wisata. The two hotels are now being renovated by PT Citpa Karya Bumi Indah (CKBI), a company owned by giant cigarette maker Djarum Group.

All employees of the two hotels were dismissed by PT HIN after it reached an agreement with Djarum Group, which was authorized to renovate HI and develop land in its vicinity, including Hotel Wisata.

The company also plans to construct a luxury shopping mall in the vicinity of HI and Hotel Wisata.

The employees claimed that HIN directors had withdrawn their pension funds from Bank Mandiri, but had not given them anything.

"The money has not reached former employees. We only got Rp 17 million each on average, as severance pay after we were fired," Imam was quoted by Antara as saying.

According to Imam, HIN directors ordered on April 28, 2004 to delay paying the pension funds to employees, saying the company was planing to carry out a massive lay-off on April 30.

However, on May 27, the directors issued a decree, saying the pension funds had been included in the severance pay that had been paid to employees.

Imam said the workers had also reported the case to the Attorney General's Office and city police.