Pati Regent Sudewo Charged with Extorting Village Officials and Accepting DJKA Bribes

Pati Regent Sudewo, who serves for the 2025-2030 period, has been charged with extortion related to the appointment of village officials in Pati Regency in 2026. The alleged crime was committed together with the Head of Arumanis Village, Sumarjiono; the Head of Karangrowo Village, Abdul Suyono; and the Head of Sukorukun Village, Sukarjan. Each is being prosecuted in separate case files. “Sudewa alias Sudewo participated in several interconnected criminal acts, considered as a continuing offence, with the intention of benefiting himself or others, namely benefiting the Defendant Sudewo and others,” stated the KPK prosecutor while reading the indictment at the Corruption Court (Tipikor) at the Semarang District Court, Central Java, on Monday (15/6). The prosecutor added that the total amount involved Sumarjiono, Abdul Suyono, and Sukarjan, reaching Rp2,495,000,000.00, obtained unlawfully or by abusing his power. The alleged crime occurred between November 2025 and January 2026, or at other times within the 2025-2026 period. The locations included the Pati Regent’s Official Residence on Jalan Tombronegoro, a local restaurant on the Pati-Juwana highway, Abdul Suyono’s house, a car wash in Jakenan, the Jaken Subdistrict Office, Jati Sari Village Hall, and several private residences across the Jaken and Jakenan subdistricts. The actions of Sudewo and his associates violated various laws, including Law Number 28 of 1999 on Clean and Corruption-Free State Administration, Law Number 23 of 2014 on Regional Government, Law Number 6 of 2014 on Villages, and Pati Regent Regulation Number 35 of 2023 on Village Officials. The prosecutor stated that Sudewo forced prospective 2026 Pati Regency village officials, including Dwi Nur Afta Lestari, Duwi Purwati, and others, to give money, pay, or receive payments with deductions for his own benefit. Each individual paid varying amounts, such as Rp130 million, Rp160 million, and Rp165 million, totalling Rp2.49 billion. For these acts, Sudewo is charged under Article 12 letter e of the Corruption Eradication Law in conjunction with the new Criminal Code. In a separate case, Sudewo, as a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) for the 2019-2024 period, was charged with accepting bribes totalling Rp1,371,500,000.00. The funds came from Nur Widayat, Commissioner of PT Mataram Inti Konstruksi (Rp450 million); Ferry Septha Indrianto alias Ferry Gareng, Director of PT Indria Putra Persada (Rp200 million); and Dion Renato Sugiarto, Director of PT Istana Putra Agung (Rp721.5 million). These individuals are contractors providing construction services within the Directorate General of Railways (DJKA) of the Ministry of Transportation. The bribes were given so that Sudewo, together with several DJKA officials including Harno Trimadi, R. Reza Maulana Maghribi, Putu Sumarjaya, Dheky Martin, Budi Prasetiyo, and Bernard Hasibuan, would ensure the contractors’ companies won railway infrastructure projects. Several of these officials have already been convicted in previous corruption trials.