Tangerang PKBM head named corruption suspect, faces up to 20 years in prison

The Tangerang Regency District Attorney’s Office in Banten has named Kidon Ginting (58), head of the PKBM Indonesia Negeriku community learning centre, as a suspect in an alleged corruption case involving Bantuan Operasional Penyelenggaraan (BOP) funds for the equivalency education programme covering the 2023-2025 period. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Head of the Tangerang Regency District Attorney’s Office, Wahyudi Eko Husodo, said on Tuesday that the suspect is charged under Articles 603 and 604 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code, in conjunction with Article 18 paragraph (1) of Law Number 31 of 1999 as amended by Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption.

“The maximum penalty is 20 years in prison and the minimum is two years,” he said.

“There were several fictitious students that did not match the budget provided by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education,” he explained.

As the party responsible for the management of PKBM Indonesia Negeriku in the Kosambi area of Tangerang Regency, Kidon is alleged to have manipulated student data during the 2023-2025 period.

However, investigators have not yet disclosed the number of students suspected of being fictitious, as this remains part of the investigation material and will be proven during the trial.

“State financial losses are approximately more than Rp2 billion. But for certainty, we will await the audit results from the auditor for the calculation of state losses,” he said.

The office is also continuing to investigate the alleged manipulation of student data and tracing the flow of funds in the case. The Tangerang Regency District Attorney’s Office has not ruled out the possibility of additional suspects from other parties.

“We will conduct further investigation in this case by continuing to gather information from the suspect, to open up this case,” he said.