For the third time in the past month, graft suspect and former deputy chief of the National Police Traffic Corps (Korlantas), Brig
or the third time in the past month, graft suspect and former deputy chief of the National Police Traffic Corps (Korlantas), Brig. Gen. Didik Purnomo, walked free after being questioned by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in a high-profile graft case.
Didik was questioned as a suspect in the vehicle simulator procurement case at the National Police, a case that caused around Rp 144.9 billion (US$12 million) in state losses.
After being questioned, Didik, who was named a suspect in 2012 together with his boss ' former Korlantas chief Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo who was earlier sentenced in the case ' did not give a statement.
KPK spokesman Johan Budi said the antigraft body still needed to question Didik to gather more crucial information.
'Investigators are still completing his dossier. After today's questioning, KPK investigators concluded they still needed more information from him, so he was not detained right after the questioning,' Johan said on Monday, adding that the KPK was expediting its investigation into Didik.
He said the antigraft body would detain Didik only after investigators had completed 70 percent of his case dossier.
Two people have already been sentenced in the case ' Djoko, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and businessman Budi Susanto, who received eight years behind bars.
Earlier this year, the Jakarta High Court increased Djoko's prison term to 18 years.
Budi was the president director of PT Citra Mandiri Metalindo Abadi (CMMA), the winner of the vehicle simulator project tender.
The case made the headlines in 2012 when the two institutions, the KPK and the National Police, clashed as both insisted on investigating the case, causing a stand-off that forced President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to instruct the National Police to let the KPK handle the case to avoid any conflict of interest within the police force.
The graft case allegedly implicated other high-ranking officials in the National Police.
In July 2013, the antigraft body grilled former National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Nanan Sukarna amid speculation that he had accepted Rp 1.5 billion from PT CMMA for giving his recommendation to the project.
When the graft case took place, Nanan was serving as head of the National Police's general supervision inspectorate (Irwasum), responsible for supervising the project.
Nanan, however, denied all allegations against him after the questioning, insisting that the project had violated no regulations.
Meanwhile, Johan emphasized on Monday that KPK investigators were still working to collect testimonies from witnesses in the case to find out whether there were other parties involved in the case.
'As long as investigators can find two strong pieces of evidence, we will no doubt name a suspect in the case,' Johan added.
Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.