JAKARTA. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has requested that the directorate general of immigration at the Law and Human Rights Ministry impose a travel ban on Budi Supriyanto, a member of the Golkar Party faction in the House of Representatives’ Commission V overseeing transportation and infrastructure.

The KPK have also requested a travel ban for construction firm PT Cahaya Mas Perkasa director, Soe Kok Seng, aka Aseng, who is suspected to have been involved in the case.

“In its investigation into a case related to unlawful gifts for construction projects at the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, the KPK has requested travel bans for Budi Supriyanto and Soe Kok Seng,” said the commission’s spokesperson Yuyuk Andriati as quoted by kompas.com on Friday.

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She said that the travel ban would be effective for the next six months. The KPK needs to prevent the two persons from traveling abroad in order to investigate the case.

“It is suspected that they have involvement in the case so, [with the travel ban], they cannot travel abroad and can therefore be summoned for questioning at any time,” said Yuyuk.

The KPK was scheduled to question Budi over the alleged graft case related to construction projects at the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry on Friday, but the Golkar Party politician failed to show up due to illness. Budi is expected to be questioned as a witness for a graft case allegedly involving a Commission V member from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Damayanti Wisnu Putranti.

Budi is one of the Commission V members whose office rooms were raided by KPK investigators on Jan.15. During the search, House Deputy Speaker Fahri Hamzah bickered with KPK investigators, making the accusation that the KPK’s move to bring a number of Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel along for the operation was illegal.

The KPK suspects that Damayanti was not the only legislative member involved in the case. The anti-graft body considered it necessary to search the offices of more Commission V members, including Budi, to gather evidence of their involvement.

In the case, construction firm PT Windhu Tunggal Utama (WTU) CEO Abdul Khoir gave Damayanti and two other persons, identified only as Julia and Dessy, S$33,000 each. The bribes were a portion of a commitment fee to ensure that PT WTU would secure construction projects in Maluku. PT WTU had hoped to win a number of road project contracts in the province, to be funded by House aspiration funds disbursed via the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry.