Ex-Jambi Education Agency Head Arrested Over Rp 1.5b Graft Allegation

Jakarta Globe, May 08, 2015

The former head of the education office of Jambi City, identified only as R in
 this photo, is a suspect in the alleged corruption in the stationery procurement
of Rp 1.5 billion. (Antara Photo/Wahdi Septiawan)

Jakarta. The Jambi State Prosecutor’s Office on Friday said it had arrested the former head of Jambi City’s education agency over allegations of mismanagement in the stationery procurement budget worth billions of rupiah in 2013.

Karya Graham Hutagaol, chief of the intelligence unit at the Jambi State Prosecutor’s Office, said Rifai had been detained for the next 20 days as part of the investigation process after the State Prosecutor’s Office had compiled enough evidence and questioned 98 witnesses.

“We decided to arrest Rifai as an attempt to prevent the suspect from destroying the evidence and from fleeing,” said Karya.

Rifai, who was named a graft suspect in February, has been accused of corruption to the tune of Rp 1.5 billion ($114,000) in connection to misappropriation of stationery procurement for various schools in the city.

Karya said the project should have been openly auctioned given the large amount of cash, but instead it was divided into 76 packets and then given directly to eight partners that delivered the budget in cash to the schools instead of procured stationery.

Karya added that Rp 1.5 billion was divided in order to avoid an open auction process and that the partners were simply designated as “formality.”

The state prosecutor’s office estimated at least Rp 1 billion in state losses.

According to Karya, Rifai is charged with a 2001 law on anti-corruption and could serve at least five years’ jail time.