BALINEWSID.COM, DENPASAR – The Bali Regional Police have named former Bali Regional Office of the National Land Agency (BPN) chief I Made Daging A.Ptnh., M.H. as a suspect in an alleged forged-document case linked to a long-running land dispute involving Pura Dalam Balangan in Jimbaran, Badung.

Daging was named a suspect on September 4, 2026, over allegations of making and/or using forged documents under Articles 391 and/or 392 of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code (KUHP).

The suspect designation was issued through Letter No. S.Tap.Tsk/44/IX/RES.1.24./2026/Ditreskrimsus.

Head of Public Relations at the Bali Police, Commissioner Ariasandy, said investigators had conducted a case review and obtained sufficient evidence to upgrade Daging’s status from a witness/reported party to a suspect.

“Based on the case review and investigation, investigators obtained two sufficient pieces of evidence, leading to the status of I Made Daging A.Ptnh., M.H., being upgraded from witness/reported party to suspect,” Ariasandy said on Saturday, September 5.

The investigation stems from a police report filed by I Made Tarip Widarta, an administrator of Pura Dalam Balangan Jimbaran, on January 5, 2026. The report was registered under No. LP/B/14/I/2026/SPKT/Polda Bali.

Investigators have questioned a number of witnesses and expert witnesses and seized 37 pieces of evidence, including original documents. Following the investigation and a case review, Daging was named a suspect.

The alleged offense concerns a letter issued by the Head of the Badung Land Office, No. MP.01.03/3200-51.03/IX/2020, dated September 8, 2020.

The letter was signed by Daging when he served as Head of the Badung Land Office in 2020. It included a land parcel map and Situation Drawing No. 10926/1989 dated December 13, 1989, related to Certificate of Ownership (SHM) No. 725/Jimbaran, registered under the name Hari Boedi Hartono.

The temple administrators have challenged several statements contained in the letter.

Their lawyer, Harmaini Idris Hasibuan, said 17 points in the document were allegedly inaccurate or inconsistent with the facts.

The dispute concerns land that the temple administrators claim forms part of the sacred area of Pura Dalam Balangan. According to them, the dispute has continued for approximately three decades and has involved various civil and criminal legal efforts.

The matter was also reported to the Indonesian Ombudsman in 2018 under registration No. 0095/LM/IX/2018/DPS-JKT.

According to material presented by the temple administrators, the Ombudsman’s Final Report of Examination (LAHP) identified problems in the handling of the land dispute and alleged maladministration in the process.

The complaint was later closed after the Ombudsman received a response from the BPN stating that corrective measures had been taken, including land measurements, mediation and an internal audit.

The temple administrators have since challenged several statements in the BPN letter, including an alleged reference to mediation or reconciliation between the parties. They maintain that no settlement was reached concerning the disputed land.

They have also questioned land measurements conducted in August 2020 and another measurement carried out on August 19, 2025.

According to the temple administrators, three categories of land are involved in the dispute: approximately four hectares of customary land on a cliff, around 3,000 square meters of state-owned cliff land, and approximately 7,050 square meters of land they claim is part of the sacred area of Pura Dalam Balangan.

They allege that the three areas were subsequently incorporated into SHM No. 725/Jimbaran under the name of Hari Boedi Hartono.

The temple administrators also claim there is a discrepancy between the approximately four-hectare area stated in the certificate and a field measurement that they say reached around 5.1 hectares, resulting in an alleged difference of approximately 1.1 hectares.

The dispute has also drawn attention to the alleged use of the contested land for a Beach Club/Glamping Hotel project.

The temple administrators said the land was leased under Lease Agreement Deed No. 05 dated July 30, 2024, between Hari Boedi Hartono and Australian national Timothy Robert Vivian Robins, who was identified by them as a director of PT Pantai Indah Wisata.

Pura Dalam Balangan administrator Mangku Tarip welcomed the latest development after Daging was named a suspect.

“I feel about 80 percent happy that we have won,” Tarip said in Denpasar on Saturday.

He said the temple administrators had pursued the matter for decades and hoped the police investigation would clarify the alleged document forgery and the status of the disputed land.

Meanwhile, Bali Police investigators have summoned Daging for questioning as a suspect on Friday, September 11, 2026, at 9 a.m. local time.

The suspect designation remains part of the ongoing investigation. Whether the alleged offenses occurred will ultimately be determined through the applicable legal process.