REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- House Deputy Speaker Utut Adianto claimed that in his capacity as a witness he was asked 11 questions by Corruption Eradication Commission investigators over a graft case involving suspended Purbalingga District Head Tasdi. KPK questioned Adianto as a witness in a bribery case in the procurement of goods and services handled by Purbalingga District government in Central Java for the 2017-2018 Budget year.
"There are 11 eleven questions posed by the investigators regarding our cadre Tasdi," Adianto said after examinations at the KPK Building in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He, however, did not reveal details of the substance of the questions. "They asked me about connections. I think it (his answer to reporters) is enough," Adianto, who is also a professional chess player, said briefly.
Adianto said he and Tasdi represent the same constituencies in Central Java that cover the districts of Purbalingga, Kebumen, and Banjarnegara. "Indeed, he is a good person but there is a mistake in the way (he acted)," Adianto said, referring to the bribery case that Tasdi is involved in at this time.
Previously, Purbalingga District head Tasdi, who has been suspended, admitted that the bribe he had received in the procurement of the Goods and Services project in the district in 2017-2018 was for meeting the needs of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).
Tasdi made the claim when he was questioned as a witness for four others who have become defendants in the 2017-2018 goods and services procurement projects for Purbalingga District during a corruption court session in Semarang on Monday (September 17).
The four defendants included Head of the Procurement Service Unit (ULP) of the Purbalingga Regional Government Hadi Iswanto and three people from the private sector, Hamdani Kosen, Librata Nababan, and Ardirawinata Nababan.
According to Tasdi, the need for Rp500 million was told to the former Head of the Procurement Service Unit (ULP) of Purbalingga Regency Hadi Iswanto, who was also tried in this case. Hadi conveyed the request to Librata Nababan, the executor of the Purbalingga District Islamic Center building project.
"I said the need of the party amounted to Rp500 million," said the former Chairman of the PDI Perjuangan for Purbalingga branch.