KPK examines nine Tulungagung Regency officials over alleged extortion

Tulungagung, East Java (ANTARA) - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has once again examined several officials within the Tulungagung Regency Government, East Java, as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged extortion case implicating inactive Regent Gatut Sunu Wibowo. KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo, when contacted by telephone on Wednesday, stated that the examination involved nine officials as witnesses to delve into the process of preparing and creating resignation statements involving 16 heads of regional device organisations (OPDs). “Today, we are examining officials from the Tulungagung Regency Government to clarify the chronology of the preparation and creation of resignation statements for the 16 OPDs,” he said. The examination was not conducted at the KPK’s Merah Putih Building in Jakarta but at the BPKP East Java office. “When OPD heads did not meet expectations, the letters were allegedly used as a tool for threats,” he stated. In those letters, OPD heads expressed their willingness to resign from their positions or civil servant status if deemed incapable of performing their duties. The KPK is also investigating alleged requests for certain sums of money linked to specific operational needs from OPDs that had signed the letters. To strengthen the evidence, investigators continue to examine witnesses and collect additional evidence. The KPK urges all summoned parties to be cooperative and provide complete statements. The nine officials examined include the Head of the Social Service, Head of the Agriculture Service, Head of the Civil Service Police Unit, officials from the Protocol and Public Welfare Division of the Regional Secretariat, Head of the Culture Division, as well as several staff and personal secretaries involved.