BPK, KPK Clash Heads in Sumber Waras Graft Case
Jakarta. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) held a closed door meeting with the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) on Monday (21/06) at the BPK office in South Jakarta to discuss alleged irregularities in a land procurement project for the Sumber Waras Hospital in West Jakarta in 2014.
"We had discussed this matter several times, and we've come up with our own conclusions," KPK chief Agus Rahardjo said after the meeting.
The KPK so far has not found any evidence of irregularity in the case and has no plan to take up the case to the Jakarta Corruption Court, or Tipikor.
On the same day, the BPK also held a meeting with human rights activist Ratna Sarumpaet and former Jakarta deputy governor Prijanto from the Save Jakarta Movement Alliance, or AGSJ, who urged the agency to stick with the findings of its 2015 audit which suggested there were a series of irregularities in the process of procuring the land for the Sumber Waras hospital.
"We have come here to show support for the BPK to fight on against those who object to these findings," Ratna said, flanked by dozens of AGSJ activists.
"The results of our audit are final," BPK chief Harry Azhar Azis told reporters after the meeting.
The case, which allegedly involved Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, first came to the surface when a BPK audit—released in September last year—suggested Ahok and his administration had caused Rp 191 billion ($14 million) in state losses by purchasing 3.7 hectares of land for the Sumber Waras hospital at the inflated price tag of Rp 775.6 billion.
The Jakarta administration had planned to build a cancer treatment facility and a palliative care center on the Sumber Waras property, located on the busy Jalan Kyai Tapa in West Jakarta.
The KPK has questioned more than 30 witnesses in the controversial case, including Ahok—who was questioned for a marathon twelve hours on April 12.
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