The inactive Head of Financial Affairs (Kaur) Citemu Village, Cirebon, Nurhayati considered it odd that he was named a suspect in the alleged corruption case of APBDes in Cirebon. Nurhayati admitted that as a witness she was quite cooperative in providing information to investigators in the last two years.
Nurhayati was the reporter for this alleged corruption case to the Village Consultative Body (BPD) of Citemu Village in early 2019. BPD Citemu then reported the case to the police in March 2020. The police then named a village head and Nurhayati as suspects at the end of 2021.
“I want to express my disappointment with law enforcement officers who named me a suspect. I who do not understand the law are odd,” explained Nurhayati through a video link on YouTube that the family gave to VOA, Monday (28/2/2022).
Nurhayati questioned the basis for naming her a suspect based on the prosecutor’s instructions to encourage the P21 process as a village head suspect. He believes that as a reporter and witness, he should receive protection from law enforcement officers. No, on the contrary, he was named a suspect. P21 is a formulaic code in the process of handling criminal acts for notification that the results of the investigation are complete and ready to be transferred to the prosecutor’s office.
Nurhayati emphasized that she did not share in enjoying the money from corruption. On the other hand, he is unable to take care of his family and children because his time is wasted in solving this case.
Nurhayati’s family representative, Junaedi, said that his sister had experienced trauma due to the determination of the suspect’s status. Moreover, Nurhayati’s case file was declared complete (P21) on February 3, 2022. According to her, Nurhayati also has not fulfilled the investigator’s summons because she is currently in self-isolation due to being infected with Covid-19.
“Yes, I was surprised, for almost two days he didn’t want to eat, cried, didn’t want to talk. He who was a witness became a suspect,” he explained to VOA, Monday (28/2/2022).
Junaedi also questioned the determination of the suspect Nurhayati, which was not preceded by the official report of the examination (BAP). He and his family then reported this case to the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) to get protection for Nurhayati. In addition, Junaedi made a video related to this case which was spread through the family and then went viral on social media.
Head of the Citemu Village Consultative Body (BPD), Mundu District, Cirebon Regency Lukman Nurhakim hopes that law enforcement officials revoke Nurhayati’s suspect status. He is worried that the determination of the suspect will scare the public from reporting corruption cases in the future.
Lukman admitted to keeping Nurhayati’s identity a secret as a reporter for alleged corruption to BPD Citemu at first. However, he was forced to reveal Nurhayati’s identity because the authorities named Nurhayati a suspect in this case.
“The point is not to let the lower class people be enthusiastic about eradicating corruption in the village, not to be dismissed just because it covers the interests of unscrupulous individuals,” Lukman explained to VOA, Monday (28/2/2022).
Lukman explained that Nurhayati had been deactivated as Head of Financial Affairs (Kaur) inactive Citemu Village because of her suspect status. However, Nurhayati still receives part of her salary or around 70 percent of her salary. The non-active status will later be revoked when the authorities have revoked Nurhayati’s suspect status.
“As soon as the letter of revocation of the suspect is issued, so that Mrs. Nurhayati can interact again with the community, work with expertise as a treasurer, and her child will not be bullied,” he added.
Government Guarantees to Stop Nurhayati’s Case
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD said that he had coordinated with the National Police and the Attorney General’s Office regarding the case of the alleged corruption suspect in the APBDes in Cirebon, namely Nurhayati, who was named a corruption suspect. According to him, the two institutions have agreed to stop the case that ensnared Nurhayati. There are two options, namely the issuance of an Investigation Termination Order (SP3) or the issuance of a Termination of Prosecution Decision Letter (SKP2).
“For the government, it doesn’t matter which one. What is important now is the spirit conveyed by President Jokowi so that people dare to report corruption,” Mahfud explained online, Sunday (27/2/2022).
However, Mahfud believes that the Police and the Prosecutor’s Office are not wrong because they have named Nurhayati a corruption suspect. He reasoned that the steps taken by the two institutions were in accordance with procedures. Although, substantially both institutions will correct the legal steps by stopping the case.
“For example, he did not report to the police or the prosecutor’s office but to the BPD. So he was examined as a witness and named a suspect because he was considered to have let it go for two years. Maybe the formality was not wrong,” added Mahfud.
The Coordinator of the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (MAKI) Boyamin Saiman assessed that the government’s actions were appropriate. Appreciation was also conveyed by the Nurhayati family and the Head of BPD Citemu Lukman Nurhakim.
However, Boyamin regretted that efforts to stop Nurhayati’s case were too late. As a result, he said, people are afraid to report to the police if they find a criminal act of corruption.
“Because whatever has had an impact, people are afraid to report for fear of becoming a suspect. It should have been extinguished immediately and the state was present,” Boyamin explained to VOA, Sunday (28/2/2022).
Boyamin proposed that the government take a number of steps to restore the public’s courage to eradicate corruption. One of them is by maximizing the Law on Witness and Victim Protection Institutions. In addition, the dissemination of regulations that protect witnesses and victims needs to be conveyed by law enforcement officials. It is hoped that the same case will not be repeated in the future.
Differences in Police Perspectives Regarding Reporting Status
Last week (21/2), the Head of Public Relations of the West Java Police, Kombes Ibrahim Tompo, explained that Nurhayati was not a reporter for the alleged corruption in the APBDes in Cirebon. According to the police, the reporter for this case is the Citemu Village Consultative Body (BPD). Based on the report, investigators obtained evidence of a crime committed by Kuwu or the Village Head of Citemu Supriyadi.
Supriyadi was later named a suspect in a corruption crime committed against the implementation of the work for the 2018 2019 and 2020 APBDes in Citemu Village.
“Sister Nurhayati is not a reporter as stated in the short video circulating on social media. But as a witness who gave testimony. So for the reporter himself from this case is the BPD of Citemu Village,” said Ibrahim in a written statement, Monday (21/2/22).
The Cirebon City Police Satreskrim investigators then transferred the completed file of Supriyadi to the Cirebon Kejari. However, the file was returned by the Cirebon Kejari to investigators or P19.
According to Ibrahim, the P19 process was carried out twice with the instructions of the public prosecutor to conduct an in-depth examination of Nurhayati. Investigators then named Nurhayati as a suspect for finding evidence and for violating the law.
“Because his actions are classified as unlawful acts, because they have enriched the suspect Supriyadi. So that his actions are suspected of causing financial loss to the state and violating Articles 2 and 3 of Law Number 31 of 1999 as amended by Law Number 20 of 2001 Juncto Article 55 of the Criminal Code. From that basis, investigators determined Nurhayati’s sister as a suspect,” Ibrahim added.
Meanwhile, the Cirebon City Police Chief, Fahri Siregar, explained that cases of misappropriation of APBDes from 2018-2020 reached Rp800 million. According to him, the investigation process in this case has been completed. The prosecutor’s case file for Supriyadi was declared complete by the prosecutor on January 10, 2022. Meanwhile, the case file for the suspect Nurhayati was declared complete on February 3, 2022.
“The investigation into this corruption case began with a complaint from the Head of the BPD in Citemu Village, Mundu District, Cirebon Regency on March 23, 2020. There were allegations of corruption committed by Supriyadi as the Head of Citemu Village and we also received information from other sources on 19 October 2020,” said Fahri Siregar at a press conference on February 19, 2022, as quoted in a police release.
Fahri added that Nurhayati was not detained with several considerations from investigators. The summons for Nurhayati was then carried out several times after the submission of the suspect and evidence to the public prosecutor.
According to the Cirebon Police, Nurhayati did not fulfill the first summons without explanation. While on the second call, Nurhayati sent a sick certificate from the Cirebon Harbor Hospital. The National Police opened discussions and consultations with parties related to the handling of the Nurhayati case. [sm/ab]