Witness in corruption case says Supreme Audit Agency employees given IDR32 million for karaoke night with 13 girls

Illustration. Photo: Pixabay
Illustration. Photo: Pixabay

Along with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) plays one of the biggest roles in Indonesia’s battle against corruption, with the latter formed to monitor the use of state funds and report on any discrepancies.

So it’s especially concerning that BPK auditors were accused yesterday, during a trial at Jakarta’s Corruption Court (Tipikor), of having received unlawful gratuities from a witness.

The trial was for corruption suspect Setia Budi, general manager of the Purbaleunyi branch of PT Jasa Marga, a state-owned company that operates and manages Indonesia’s highway networks, who stands accused of bribing a BPK auditor named Sigit Yugoharto with a Harley Davidson motorcycle after officials found that the company had gone over budget for a highway reparation project.

It turns out that the alleged bribery went beyond that. When Totong Heryana, general manager for the project’s contractor, PT Marga Maju Mapan, was called to testify as a witness yesterday, he revealed that in August 2017, he took out a considerable amount of money from the company’s coffers to pay for a night out at a karaoke joint in Semanggi, South Jakarta, for seven BPK auditors, including Sigit.

“The cost was around IDR32 million,” Totong said during the trial yesterday, as quoted by Kompas.

According to Totong, Setia Budi asked employees of Jasa Marga and its contractors to fully comply with the wishes of BPK auditors who were looking into the companies’ books at that time. On August 3, the auditors asked five Jasa Marga employees for a “late night meeting”, which Totong said he later understood to mean karaoke.

Totong said he then took out IDR200 million (US$15,000) from the company under the guise of a “marketing expenditure”.

“In Bandung (for a previous karaoke night) around IDR40 million (US$3,000) was spent. So I requested IDR200 million for marketing money,” he said.

BPK auditors and Jasa Marga employees were reportedly at the Semanggi karaoke joint from 8pm until 1am. They also used the money to pay for the company of 13 female karaoke attendants that night.

Under Indonesian law, those convicted of giving bribes to government officials can be jailed for up to 5 years while government officials who receive bribes can be jailed for life.



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