Measures against official demanded

Measures against official demanded

TANGERANG (JP): Bencongan villagers urged Tangerang regent
Agus Djunara on Saturday to take stern action against a local
regency official for his alleged involvement in the illegal sale
of a four-hectare plot of land.

The official, identified as Hafrudin who is now head of
Pamulang district, is one of three officials allegedly involved
in the illegal land sale.

The two other officials, namely H. Djana and Endang Suparman,
are the former heads of Bencongan and Cukanggalih villages
respectively. Both were dismissed from their jobs.

"The regent should settle the corruption case fully by
bringing the case to court. Don't defend the guilty party through
various arguments," Stephanus LB, one of the villagers' lawyer,
said.

Transparency in the case is badly needed, especially during
the current reform era, so as to prevent confusion among the
residents, he said.

The wrongdoing in the land sale came to the surface when
landowners in Cukanggalih subdistrict complained that they had
not received full compensation for their land bought by the head
of Bencongan subdistrict with funds resulting from a deal with
development company Lippo Karawaci.

Under the deal, the developer bought the four-hectare plot of
land from the Bencongan subdistrict for Rp 2 billion
(US$181,818). The Bencongan subdistrict, in turn, used the money
from the deal to buy four hectares of land in Cukanggalih
subdistrict, where it plans to build boardinghouses.

Local villagers forced the Bencongan subdistrict office to
close on Aug. 31 in protest over the slow process in the
investigation of the case. (41/ivy)