T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) locked up on Thursday Deddy Kusdinar, the first graft suspect to be detained in the Hambalang investigation since the case started last year.

'The KPK will detain DK for the next 20 days at Cipinang detention center in East Jakarta,' KPK spokesperson Johan Budi told a press conference.

The KPK investigators detained Deddy, who was the chief of financial and internal affairs at the Sports Ministry, after questioning him for more than nine hours on Thursday.

Deddy exited KPK headquarters wearing a KPK detainee's jacket, which was specially conceived to shame and deter graft suspects.

Deddy's lawyer, Rudy Alfonso, said that his client had been expecting to stay in the detention center.

'He is happy because it means that the investigation is almost finished and he can start focusing on the trial,' he told reporters.

Deddy reportedly requested to be detained, saying that he had often received threats since being named a suspect in the case.

Johan has rejected the claim.

Rudy said that he could not confirm if his client had received threats.

'So far I don't know if he was being intimidated. But he often slept at mosques, he rarely went home to his house,' he said.

The KPK named Deddy as the first suspect in the case, centering on the construction of the Rp 2.5 trillion Hambalang sports complex in Bogor, West Java, in July 2012. He was charged under Article 2 of Law No. 31/1999 on Corruption for abuse of authority.

According to Rudy, Deddy was the sole responsible official handling the project as well as other projects at the ministry.

'So there's something unusual here because Deddy was the only responsible official at the ministry for a while. Usually there are 20 people working in that role,' he said. 'So you can imagine he found it hard to handle so many documents alone.'

Former youth and sports minister Andi Mallarangeng is expected to be detained by the KPK soon.