N. Sumatra Police name 16 suspects in Rp 2 billion refugee aid scam
N. Sumatra Police name 16 suspects in Rp 2 billion refugee aid scam
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra
The North Sumatra Police have named 16 people as suspects in the
alleged embezzlement of Rp 2 billion (US$225,225) in resettlement
funds for refugees from Aceh in North Sumatra.
Head of the Binjai, North Sumatra social affairs agency
Syamsul Bahri tops the list of suspects, which also includes five
subdistrict heads in Langkat regency and two local journalists.
Five of them are in police custody for investigation purposes.
Spokesman for the provincial police Sr. Comr. Amrin Karim said
on Tuesday the suspects were suspected of collaborating in the
theft of a portion of the Rp 105 billion in state funds allocated
for 12,000 families who fled conflict-torn Aceh. Most of the
refugees are Javanese transmigrants.
He said the police named the suspects after questioning 35
witnesses.
"There is a possibility for us to name new suspects, depending
on our findings during the investigation," Amrin said.
Police had begun the investigation into the alleged fund
misuse following reports from a joint team comprising the
provincial inspectorate and the internal audit agency.
The alleged embezzlement has prompted the Ministry of Social
Affairs to stop disbursing the resettlement fund, which amounts
to Rp 8.75 million for each family. So far 7,643 families have
received the fund, some of them preferred to begin a new life in
Riau.
Many of the refugees said they would not return to Aceh, where
peace has begun to return, after experiencing trauma and
accusations of collaboration with Jakarta in the Acehnese
struggle. The armed conflict between the Indonesian Military
(TNI) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the natural resource-
rich province has claimed over 10,000 lives.
The suspension of resettlement funds left 4,357 refugee
families waiting for the aid. Around 600 disgruntled families
have been camping out on the compounds of the gubernatorial
office and the provincial legislature over the past week to
demand their money.
"We will stay here until the government sets a certain date
for us to receive the fund," Sugiono, one of the refugees who
fled East Aceh to Langkat in North Sumatra, said.
The head of provincial social affairs office, Silvester Lase,
said Governor T. Rizal Nurdin had written Minister of Social
Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah twice to ask him to disburse the
balance of the resettlement fund. No response has been
forthcoming from the minister, Silvester said.
"We can do nothing to help the refugees, because the money
comes from Jakarta," Silvester said.
He promised tough measures against officials under his
supervision who were involved in the scandal.
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra
The North Sumatra Police have named 16 people as suspects in the
alleged embezzlement of Rp 2 billion (US$225,225) in resettlement
funds for refugees from Aceh in North Sumatra.
Head of the Binjai, North Sumatra social affairs agency
Syamsul Bahri tops the list of suspects, which also includes five
subdistrict heads in Langkat regency and two local journalists.
Five of them are in police custody for investigation purposes.
Spokesman for the provincial police Sr. Comr. Amrin Karim said
on Tuesday the suspects were suspected of collaborating in the
theft of a portion of the Rp 105 billion in state funds allocated
for 12,000 families who fled conflict-torn Aceh. Most of the
refugees are Javanese transmigrants.
He said the police named the suspects after questioning 35
witnesses.
"There is a possibility for us to name new suspects, depending
on our findings during the investigation," Amrin said.
Police had begun the investigation into the alleged fund
misuse following reports from a joint team comprising the
provincial inspectorate and the internal audit agency.
The alleged embezzlement has prompted the Ministry of Social
Affairs to stop disbursing the resettlement fund, which amounts
to Rp 8.75 million for each family. So far 7,643 families have
received the fund, some of them preferred to begin a new life in
Riau.
Many of the refugees said they would not return to Aceh, where
peace has begun to return, after experiencing trauma and
accusations of collaboration with Jakarta in the Acehnese
struggle. The armed conflict between the Indonesian Military
(TNI) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the natural resource-
rich province has claimed over 10,000 lives.
The suspension of resettlement funds left 4,357 refugee
families waiting for the aid. Around 600 disgruntled families
have been camping out on the compounds of the gubernatorial
office and the provincial legislature over the past week to
demand their money.
"We will stay here until the government sets a certain date
for us to receive the fund," Sugiono, one of the refugees who
fled East Aceh to Langkat in North Sumatra, said.
The head of provincial social affairs office, Silvester Lase,
said Governor T. Rizal Nurdin had written Minister of Social
Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah twice to ask him to disburse the
balance of the resettlement fund. No response has been
forthcoming from the minister, Silvester said.
"We can do nothing to help the refugees, because the money
comes from Jakarta," Silvester said.
He promised tough measures against officials under his
supervision who were involved in the scandal.