Disclosure of Tin Corruption Doesn't Stop Illegal Mining in Babylon

Disclosure of tin corruption cases must be carried out as widely and completely as possible to prevent repeated cases.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

Illegal tin mining continues around fishing villages in Pangkal Arang, Pangkal Balam District, Pangkal Pinang City, Bangka Belitung Islands on Wednesday (24/4/2024). The disclosure of the alleged corruption case in tin management in the mining business license (IUP) area of PT Timah 2015-2022, which resulted in state losses of IDR 271 trillion, apparently did not provide a strong deterrent effect.

PANGKAL PINANG, KOMPAS — Disclosure of a case of alleged corruption in tin management in the mining business permit (IUP) area PT Timah 2015-2022 which is detrimental the state Rp. 271 trillion does not really have a deterrent effect. Illegal tin mining activities still occur, one of which is in Pangkal Pinang City, Bangka Island.

Based on Kompas's monitoring, Wednesday (24/4/2024) afternoon, a noisy diesel engine could be heard coming from a wooden pontoon on the river bank. It is located not far from the fishing village in the Pangkal Arang area, Pangkal Balam District, Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Belitung Islands.

Five to seven adult men can be seen working there. This activity is only 4 kilometers or about 10 minutes by land from the center of Pangkal Pinang City, the capital of Bangka Belitung Islands Province, in the northeast direction.

Also read: Investigators Collect New Facts on Alleged Tin Corruption in Bangka

According to local resident and fisherman, Jufri, the machine is a tool for sucking tin from the depths of the water. This activity was carried out by a number of workers who came from outside the village.

"This activity has only started again in the last few days after stopping due to raids," said Jufri.

Jufri said, after the tin corruption case surfaced, especially when Central Bangka tin entrepreneur Tamron alias Aon was detained by the Attorney General's Office, Tuesday (6/2/2024), a number of security officers came to his village. The officers raided illegal mining.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

Illegal tin mining continues to take place around the fishing village of Pangkal Arang, Pangkal Balam District, Pangkal Pinang City, Bangka Belitung Islands Province on Wednesday (24/4/2024). The revelation of a case of alleged corruption in tin management permits (IUP) in PT Timah 2015-2022, which resulted in state losses of Rp271 trillion, apparently did not have a significant deterrent effect.

A raid once caused the mine workers to run away for several days. However, when there were no officials guarding, the mine workers returned and carried out their activities as usual.

“If there is a raid, they disappear for a week or two. "When they feel safe, they will come again," said Jufri.

Based on a number of regulations, mining activities are classified as illegal. Pangkal Pinang has been designated as a zero mining area.

The regulation is contained in Regional Regulation (Perda) of Pangkal Pinang City Number 1 of 2012 regarding Spatial Planning.

This is also reinforced by Pangkal Pinang City Regional Regulation Number 7 of 2019 concerning the Implementation of Public Order and Community Peace.

If there is a raid, they could disappear for a week or two. When conditions feel safe, they will come again.

The fourth section of Chapter VI on Environmental Regulation in Regulation 7/2019 states that everyone or any entity is prohibited from excavating and/or dredging the soil, rivers/streams or other places to obtain a benefit or profit that may cause environmental damage without permission from the mayor or designated official.

Difficult to eradicate

Previously, Acting Governor of Bangka Belitung Safrizal ZA, after attending a Public Consultation on "Preparation of the Environmental Strategic Study for the Bangka-Belitung Region's Medium-Term Development Plan (KLHS RPJMD) 2025-2029" in Pangkal Pinang on Wednesday morning, stated that the disclosure of the tin corruption case has significantly reduced the environmental burden in Bangka Belitung.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

There is no activity on the wooden pontoon used for illegal tin mining in Sumber Rejo River, Pangkal Balam District, Pangkal Pinang City, Bangka Belitung Islands Province, on Wednesday (24/4/2024).

Safrizal claimed that the disclosure caused almost 100 percent of illegal mining activities to stop. However, he admitted that there are still rogue individuals carrying out illegal mining. Their locations are far from the supervision of authorities or the government.

"We are unable to reach it. Perhaps it is because the community cannot break away from mining. For some people, mining has become a daily job to earn a living. If it is not done, they cannot eat," he said.

Also read: Five Smelters Related to Alleged Tin Corruption Will Be Managed by the State

Safrizal confirmed that the illegal tin mining results would be difficult to sell. This is because there are no longer any buyers who are willing to collect or purchase it. Prospective buyers are afraid following the revelation of the tin corruption case.

"The distribution of illegal goods is now difficult, no one wants to buy them. So, if there are groups of people who still dare to mine illegally, their results will be wasted, not knowing what to do with them," he said.

Director of Bangka-Belitung Resources Institute, Teddy Marbinanda, stated that the phenomenon of the community's ongoing illegal mining activities shows that the Attorney General's Office should not be satisfied with cases that have already been exposed.

The Attorney General's Office must provide certainty soon, whether there will be other suspects or the legal process will continue to the next stage.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

The Head of the Asset Recovery Agency of the Indonesian Attorney General's Office, Amir Yanto, gave a press statement following the Cross-Sector Coordination Meeting related to the Follow-Up of the Seizure of Five Tin Smelters on Bangka Island, at the Office of the Governor of Bangka Belitung, Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Island, on Tuesday (23/4/2024).

”The ongoing legal process is already on the track. Many suspects and evidence were obtained and many witnesses were questioned. However, the Attorney General's Office should not stop here. "They must immediately determine whether there might be another suspect or take this legal process to the next level," said Teddy.

Since October 2023, the AGO has charged 16 suspects. Apart from Tamron, other famous names are crazy rich Pantai Indah Kapuk Helena Lim and artist Sandra Dewi's husband, Harvey Moeis.

On the other hand, the Attorney General's Office (Kejagung) has seized a number of assets from five tin smelters or mining processing facilities. There were 148 witnesses examined.

Also read: Tin Corruption Leaves Environmental Damage and Children Drop Out of School

According to Teddy, the legal process has been going on for quite some time, at least since the beginning of the year or since the arrested suspect. Currently, there is no certainty about the future of the case.

He is worried that if this drags on, it will give rise to a lot of opinions or speculation, especially among the public.

So far, the community in Bangka Belitung is still highly dependent on tin mining. Therefore, it's not surprising that there are residents who dare to continue mining.

"If this case is not resolved soon, the disclosure of it will lose its momentum for improving the governance of tin mining and business," said Teddy.