A pretrial motion over a multi-million dollar land dispute puts Bali’s property bureaucracy under a microscope, testing confidence in one of the island’s most critical systems.
DENPASAR, Bali — The Chief of Bali’s Regional Office of the National Land Agency (BPN), I Made Daging, is mounting a rare legal counteroffensive. Having been formally named a suspect in a criminal investigation last December, he is now challenging the very basis of the charges against him in a pretrial hearing at the Denpasar District Court.
In Indonesia, pretrial hearings are a legal mechanism used to test the procedural legality of police investigations, not to determine guilt or innocence.
The case, rooted in a decades-old land certificate for a coveted clifftop plot in Jimbaran, is more than a personal legal battle; it is a stress test for the integrity of Bali’s property bureaucracy—a system upon which thousands of foreign investors, expatriate homeowners, and local businesses rely.
The police’s case hinges on two key articles: Article 421 of the outdated Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP), concerning abuse of authority, and Article 83 of the 2009 Archives Law. In a detailed legal rebuttal seen by Hey Bali News, Daging’s legal counsel, led by advocate Gede Pasek Suardika, argues these charges are legally untenable.
Suardika contends that Article 421 is effectively a “zombie law.” It was rendered obsolete, he asserts, by the enactment of the new Criminal Code in 2023, with its substance long since absorbed into separate laws on government administration and corruption.
“Applying a repealed article blatantly violates the principle of legality, the most fundamental rule in criminal law,” Suardika stated.
Regarding the archives charge, his team claims the alleged offense falls outside the three-year statute of limitations, meaning the state’s right to prosecute has expired.
At the heart of the investigation is a land certificate first issued in 1989 for a parcel in Jimbaran. According to Suardika, this certificate was validated by a final and binding court decision in 2003.
He claims his client is being prosecuted not for an active misuse of power, but for refusing to alter or revoke this legally settled document in the face of external pressure.
“He is in the position of obeying a final Supreme Court ruling,” Suardika explained. “If he had complied with the request to cancel it, that would have been an abuse of authority, as it would contradict a court’s permanent decision.”
The plot’s location in Jimbaran, one of Bali’s most exclusive areas, underscores the high financial stakes. While official valuations differ, public data from the BPN’s BHUMI platform suggests land values in the area can reach or exceed one billion Rupiah per are (100 square meters).
If the disputed plot is approximately 70 are, as indicated by the defense, its potential market value could approach 70 billion Rupiah (roughly $4.5 million USD).
For Bali’s significant community of foreign residents and investors, the case strikes a nerve. The process of securing land rights—through leases, nominee agreements, or corporate structures—invariably leads to the BPN office.
The prospect of its top provincial official being embroiled in a complex criminal case raises uncomfortable questions about institutional stability and legal certainty.
“A case like this creates a climate of anxiety,” said a longtime foreign property consultant in Bali, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. “It doesn’t matter if the official is guilty or innocent. The perception that the system itself is vulnerable to deep disputes or potential manipulation is what makes people nervous. Due diligence becomes even more critical.”
The police, for their part, have maintained that the suspect status was levied after sufficient evidence was gathered from public reports. “The investigation is still being deepened,” said Kombes Pol. Ariasandy, Head of Public Relations for the Bali Regional Police, without providing specific details on the alleged actions.
All eyes are now on the Denpasar District Court. The pretrial hearing, scheduled to begin on January 23, 2026, will not adjudicate guilt or innocence. Instead, it will rule on the procedural correctness of the police’s investigation and the validity of the suspect designation. A ruling in Daging’s favor could see the case dismissed on technical grounds. A ruling for the police would allow the criminal investigation to proceed, likely prolonging a shadow over the land agency.
The outcome will send a signal far beyond the courtroom. It will either reinforce confidence in the rule of law within Bali’s crucial land sector or amplify whispers of its fragility—a distinction of profound importance to anyone with a stake, literal or figurative, in the island’s future.
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