Indonesian Attorney General's Office Drops Dual Employment Case Against Contract Teacher

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian Prosecutor’s Office has dropped the case against a contract teacher in Probolinggo, East Java, who was named a suspect for holding a dual position as a Village Local Facilitator (Pendamping Lokal Desa or PLD), allegedly causing a loss of Rp118 million to the state.

“The case has been dropped as of today. The East Java High Prosecutor’s Office halted the proceedings this morning,” said the Head of the Legal Information Centre (Kapuspenkum) of the Attorney General’s Office, Anang Supriatna, when contacted in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He explained that the reason for dropping the case was that the state’s losses had been recovered, amounting to Rp118,861,000, the act in question was not considered a serious offence, the suspect did not benefit from the situation, and the public interest was served.

“Why is it considered a minor offence? Because, yes, there was an illegal act, but it was not a reprehensible act,” he said.

Anang also stated that the contract teacher had been released from the Kraksaan Probolinggo Detention Centre since Friday (20th February).

Prosecutors believed that Misbahul had committed corruption by receiving payment from two jobs, both of which were funded by the state budget. According to the prosecutor’s calculations, he allegedly caused a loss of Rp118 million to the state due to this dual employment.

This case has also been highlighted by the Chairman of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), Habiburokhman, who expressed regret over the incident.

According to him, it can be understood that Misbahul was not aware of the prohibition against holding dual positions. He also criticised the actions taken by the prosecutors in this case.

“The prosecutors should have followed Article 36 of the new Criminal Code, which requires the element of intent (for a criminal offence),” he said.