Distributor Of Rice for The Poor Arrested

Pamekasan, Nov 11 (Antara) - The Pamekasan police in Madura, East Java, have arrested the distributor of rice for the poor on charge of embezzling the state food aid. Ahmad Yani has been arrested after being named a suspect in embezzling the food aid for the poor, chief of the Pamekasan police unit Adj. Comr. Moh Nur Amin said here on Monday. A number of witnesses including village chiefs had testified against Ahmad Yani, Nur Amin said Ahmad Yani, who was a retired official of the state board of logistics (BuloG) was arrested after his accomplice Mustahep, chief of the village of Larapangan Slamet, was detained by police earlier. "Based on information from Mustahep, Ahmad Yani was the mastermind in the embezzlement," Nur Amin said. Police, therefore, had arrested two suspects in the case , he said, adding another suspect was Moh. Urip , chief of the Tanjung village in the sub-district of Pademawu, Moh Urip. Urip case is being investigated by a team of investigators of the Pamekasan prosecution office. Almost all villages in the regency of Pamekasan complained about alleged embezzlement of state aid of cheap rice for the poor distributed by the government. The villagers sent their complaints to the city council. Investigations by the Agency Monitoring the Public Policy in Pamekasan showed that losses as a result of embezzlement of rice for the poor in the regency reached up to Rp58.8 billion a year. Rice for the poor is distributed every six months every year, but in some areas in Pamekasan distribution is made three times in two years. In Pamekasan, there were 109,017 households entitled to rice for the poor totaling 1,635,255 kilograms per month . Every year, the government spends Rp127.5 billion on rice for the poor in Pamekasan. The households are entitled to the food aid every month but in some villages such as Larangan Slampar, the househodls received only three times in two years. Nur Amin said he dis not rule out more suspects would be named in the case, adding investigations are still in process.