BALI — Former Head of the Bali Regional Office of the National Land Agency (BPN), I Made Daging, filed a police report with Bali Police on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, alleging the use of falsified documents by I Made Tarip and fellow guardians of Pura Dalem Balangan, shortly after his release from detention.
Daging was released after spending 28 days in detention following a ruling by a single judge at the Denpasar District Court, Kadek Dedy Arcana, who declared his detention unlawful. However, the judge upheld the legality of his designation as a suspect in an alleged document-forgery case, meaning the underlying criminal proceedings remain ongoing.
Accompanied by his legal team, led by lawyer Gede Pasek Suardika, Daging subsequently visited the General Criminal Investigation Directorate of Bali Police to report the alleged use of documents he believes contain altered or inconsistent handwriting.
The report concerns a 1985 certificate issued by the Head of Jimbaran Village, which Daging said had been used by the reporting party and investigators during the examination of the alleged forgery case against him.
Daging claimed that he found discrepancies in the document after obtaining comparative records from the National Land Agency. One key issue concerns the western boundary of the land, which reportedly identifies the area as Tanah DP Balangan.
According to Daging, around 10 to 11 comparison documents instead identify the western boundary of Pangarti land as the sea, the Bali Strait, or the coastline.
He also questioned whether the original 1985 document still exists, saying he had asked investigators about it but had not been shown an original copy.
Daging emphasized that his complaint was not simply about the old document itself, but also about its alleged use in the official police examination record, known as the Berita Acara Pemeriksaan (BAP).
He further stated that a letter he issued while serving as a BPN official had been reviewed by the Government Internal Supervisory Apparatus through the Inspectorate General. According to him, the institutional review found the letter to be valid.
However, the allegations concerning the disputed document remain claims made by Daging and require further investigation and legal verification.
Lawyer Questions Evidence in the Alleged Forgery Case Daging's lawyer, Gede Pasek Suardika, welcomed the court's decision declaring his client's detention unlawful, while acknowledging that the suspect designation remained legally valid under the ruling.
Pasek argued that the central issue was not simply the number of witnesses, experts, or documents presented, but whether the evidence adequately established a connection between the alleged acts and the criminal offense under investigation. He identified three issues raised by investigators concerning the contents of the disputed letter: the alleged absence of drone use, the conduct of land measurements, and the designation of land boundaries.
Pasek claimed his team possessed evidence addressing all three issues. Regarding drone use, he cited photographs, imagery, and metadata containing dates and times. On land measurements, he referred to information concerning the Ombudsman's involvement in the measurement process and the presentation of its results.
According to Pasek, the Ombudsman had also recommended that any disagreement over accepting or rejecting the measurement results be resolved through the courts. He questioned whether investigators had sufficiently connected their evidence to the alleged document forgery attributed to his client.
Despite these criticisms, Pasek said his legal team respected the court's ruling and would continue to follow the legal process.
Made Daging Plans to Resume Duties in Jakarta Following his release, Daging said he intended to return to his duties at the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) in Jakarta. He said his detention had kept him away from work for 28 days and that he planned to return to the capital on Friday, after first performing prayers.
Reflecting on his time in detention at Bali Police headquarters, Daging said he had tried to accept the situation and adapt. He also stated that detention officers had allowed him to worship and communicate with his family.
Although he has been released, Daging remains a suspect in the alleged document-forgery case. The court's decision declaring his detention unlawful does not automatically invalidate his suspect status or end the underlying proceedings.
Meanwhile, his separate complaint concerning the alleged use of disputed documents will require further examination by investigators. Both matters remain subject to the applicable legal process, and the allegations must be assessed on the basis of evidence and the presumption of innocence.
