K3 Corruption Case Continues, Noel Faces Court Hearing Today

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Former Deputy Minister of Manpower (Wamenaker) Immanuel Ebenezer (Noel), the defendant in the alleged corruption case involving the extortion in processing Occupational Safety and Health (K3) certificates, will undergo a continuation hearing. The hearing is scheduled at the Corruption Court (Tipikor) on Thursday (7/5/2026) at 15:30 WIB, with the agenda of listening to the defendant’s testimony. “It is opened and open to the public,” stated the Panel of Judges during the hearing. This session is a continuation of the examination of other defendants from Wednesday (6/5/2026). Bobby Mahendro, known as the “Sultan of Manpower,” claimed that Noel directly requested a flow of funds from him amounting to Rp 3 billion. “I was called via WhatsApp and asked to come to his room. I was given information about an APH examination and suggested to ‘just settle it’,” recounted Bobby. “I asked what he meant, then the figure of Rp 3 billion was mentioned. I tried to negotiate, but he replied that it was already cheap,” he continued. He stated that Noel knew the funds came from a non-technical name of a K3 service company (PJK3). Additionally, Noel is claimed to have known the role played by the Sultan of Manpower. “He knew, because I explained my position as the K3 certificate coordinator,” he said. To meet those needs, he sold stored assets. “Yes, two cars worth around Rp 1.5 billion,” he said. Furthermore, Bobby explained that non-technical funds were also used to purchase vehicles, which could be sold at any time to meet certain needs, including requests from superiors.