The Plight of Mbah Lanjarsari, a Land Mafia Victim Facing Eviction
A land mafia case similar to one that previously befell Mbah Tupon from Bantul has reoccurred. This time the victim is Mbah Lanjarsari, a resident of Sleman. She is threatened with losing her home because two land certificates belonging to her late husband, Komaridin, suddenly changed ownership and became collateral at a bank.
Komaridin’s heirs, namely Lanjarsari and her four children, have also received a warning letter from the bank because the certificates are being used as collateral. The two land certificates are for plots measuring 471 square metres in Maguwoharjo and 274 square metres in Wedomartani.
Lanjarsari and her four children have sought help from the Legal Aid and Consultation Centre (PBKH) of the Faculty of Law at Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta (UAJY) to investigate the case.
The head of the UAJY PBKH legal team, Hengky Widhi Antoro, stated that the two certificates in Komaridin’s name had suddenly changed ownership. The case began in 2011 when Komaridin and his wife were visited by a man with the initials PW. PW borrowed Komaridin’s certificates under the pretext of a share investment business, promising Komaridin and his wife a monthly payment of Rp400,000.
“There is a statement document dated 20 January 2011 made and signed by PW, stating that he would not use or utilise the land with the certificate in the name of the late Mr Komaridin without his permission,” Hengky said at the PBKH Atma Jaya Jogja office on Monday (13/7/2026).
Hengky added that there was no rental agreement or cooperation between Komaridin, his wife, and PW. “There is absolutely no cooperation agreement here, only a statement that he borrowed it,” he explained.
On 7 May 2024, Lanjarsari suddenly received a first warning letter from a bank stating that the two land certificates had been used as collateral. The certificates had also been transferred into PW’s name. Lanjarsari and her four children claim they never made or signed any agreement regarding the two plots of land and were unaware of any transfer process. The loan ceiling for the Maguwoharjo plot was stated to be Rp284,892,400, while details for the Wedomartani plot remain unknown.
Hengky and the PBKH UAJY legal team reported the case to the Yogyakarta Regional Police on 6 July 2026. The police report, numbered LP/B/411/VII/2026/SPKT/Polda DIY, will be used to trace the process of the land rights transfer with the Land Office.
AKBP Verena SW, Head of Public Relations Sub-division at the Yogyakarta Regional Police, confirmed the report. “It is true that a police report was filed on 6 July 2026, and the case is currently under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Yogyakarta Regional Police,” she stated.
Lanjarsari recounted her initial meeting with PW in 2011, explaining that he came to her house and borrowed the certificates claiming they were for a business venture. PW promised a monthly profit of Rp400,000, which he paid for only about fifteen months before stopping. Despite her repeated attempts to retrieve the certificates, PW kept delaying. “I went to his house to ask for the certificates back, but he wouldn’t give them. He kept saying tomorrow, tomorrow,” she said. Her daughter, Nuriyah, added that the children were unaware the certificates had been lent out until the bank sent the warning letter.