Judge in K3 Corruption Trial Rebukes Former Kemenaker Dirjen: No Need to Cover Up with "I Don't Know"
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The judge at the Jakarta Corruption Court (Tipikor) rebuked former Acting Director General of Occupational Safety and Health Supervision (Binwasker K3) at the Ministry of Manpower (Kemenaker), Fahrurozi, during the corruption trial involving extortion for K3 certifications on Thursday (7/5/2026).
The reason was that Fahrurozi repeatedly answered that he did not know about the non-technical fees deposited by Occupational Safety and Health Service Companies (PJK3) for processing K3 certifications, even though he was the director general involved in the matter.
“You were born in Kemenaker. You know this system. There is no need to cover things up by saying, ‘I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know.’ You are the director general,” said Judge Nur Sari Baktiana at the Jakarta Tipikor Court on Thursday afternoon.
The panel stated that Fahrurozi’s openness as the defendant in this trial could be a consideration in the prosecution process or the judge’s decision later on.
Meanwhile, Fahrurozi’s continuous attitude of claiming ignorance could be detrimental.
“When you are in the position of director general but don’t know, don’t know, don’t know, you are not helping yourself,” said the judge.
“Other evidence does not support your lack of knowledge. That means you are being evasive in the trial,” said the judge.
In the trial, the judge touched on unhealthy practices related to processing K3 certifications, but Fahrurozi continued to claim he did not know about it.
The judge then reminded that Fahrurozi should be able to frankly provide testimony regarding those practices.
The judge concluded the warning by emphasising that Fahrurozi’s fate as the defendant is determined by his own testimony in the trial.
“You yourself can help yourself. Not your advocate. Try to understand that, reflect on that,” said the judge.
In this case, Fahrurozi, along with former Deputy Minister of Manpower Immanuel Ebenezer and several Kemenaker officials, is charged with receiving Rp 6.5 billion from extorting applicants for K3 certificates and licences.