Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The state lost Rp6.7 billion due to alleged corruption in procurement of vests, hats, bags and office stationery for population census officials at the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS).

"Based on the preliminary calculation, losses suffered by the state amounted to Rp2.7 billion in the procurement of vests and hats and Rp4 billion in the procurement of bags and office stationery," the Attorney Generals Office (AGO) spokesman M Rum said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The Attorney Generals Office, he said, had examined 27 witnesses as part of its probe into alleged corruption in the procurement of vests and hats for officials of the 2016 population census committee and in the procurement of bags and office stationary in 2015.

The AGO will continue to question more witnesses. "On Tuesday (Dec 27) we examined two witnesses from the private sector," M Rum said.

The witnesses are Paulus of PT Megaprint Citra Mandiri and Bony J of PT Multitech Advance Printing.

The AGO has named three suspects in the case, namely PB, the director of private firm CV Elya Berkat, BW of PT Piramida Karya Mandiri, and LP, a planning bureau officer of the BPS.

M Rum said suspect LP responded to the summons issued by the investigators on Thursday in the company of his lawyer. He was detained.

"LP is being detained in the AGOs state detention house in Salemba, Central Jakarta, for 20 days from December 22, 2016 to January 10, 2017," he said.

LP has been detained to prevent him from fleeing, damaging or destroying evidence or repeating the crime.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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