KPK SEARCHES CUSTOMS AND EXCISE OFFICE

Officials from the Corruption Eradication Commision (KPK) searched the excise and customs office in Tanjung Priok, north Jakarta, on Friday, in a surprise inspection.
Despite year - long efforts to suppress graft at the office, spearheaded by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, they found bribes continued being delivered " through couriers , security personnel, cleaning service workers ", said M. Yasin, the KPK deputy, between news agency reported Friday.
Yasin said several envelopes containing hundreds of millions of rupiah were found in desks at the services section.
" Each bore the name of a company and the phrase ' meal money '," he said.
Yasin said the job of handling both excise and customs could be problematic for high - ranking officials.
As an example, he referred to one of the department's high ranking officials who was also a notary and a commissioner in a number of companies.
" This is despite the fact his salary has been raised. He has an allowance of Rp 46 million (US$4,900), " Yasin said.
Director general of excise and customs, Anwar Supriyadi, said surprise inspections could instill a culture of discipline in officers, the TEMPO INTERAKTIF online news agency reported. Inspections last year by the custom office showed there were more than 2,300 graft cases in the office, causing the state losses of up to Rp 97.84 billion, Anwar said.

the jakarta post
saturday, May 31, 2008