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TV comedian Mandra detained in TVRI graft case
Mandra Naih / AntaraThe Attorney Generalâs Office (AGO) detained on Friday television comedian Mandra Naih â known for his role as a sidekick to Rano Karnoâs character in Si Doel Anak Sekolahan (Si Doel, the Educated Boy) â for his suspected role in a corruption case involving state-owned TV station TVRI
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Mandra Naih / Antara
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) detained on Friday television comedian Mandra Naih ' known for his role as a sidekick to Rano Karno's character in Si Doel Anak Sekolahan (Si Doel, the Educated Boy) ' for his suspected role in a corruption case involving state-owned TV station TVRI.
'We have detained suspect M [Mandra] who is also a Betawi actor in the TVRI broadcasting program case,' AGO spokesman Tony Spontana said.
Tony said prosecutors also detained two other suspects, PT Media Art Image director Iwan Chermawan and TVRI executive Yulkasmir.
The three suspects would be detained at Salemba prison in Central Jakarta for the next 20 days.
'The suspects will be detained until March 25,' he said.
Prosecutors handling the case had earlier placed travel bans on the three suspects.
The AGO first investigated the case in 2012 after reports there had been irregularities in some television programs broadcast by TVRI.
The probe later found that Mandra's company, PT Viandra Production, as the programs' production house, had failed to meet its obligation based on a contract it signed with TVRI.
The project was worth Rp 47.8 billion (US$3.6 million) and the AGO had estimated that it had caused
Rp 3.6 billion in state losses.
Mandra and the two other suspects could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of violating articles 2(1) and 3 of the 1999 Corruption Law.
Before questioning on Friday, which resulted in Mandra's detention, Mandra's lawyer, Sonny Sudarsono, maintained his client should not be a suspect as he had never accepted the money he was accused of accepting.
'We've discovered some interesting new facts about the cash flow to PT Viandra. A total of Rp 12 billion went into the company in stages starting from Dec. 12, 2012,' he said at the AGO's headquarters in South Jakarta.
Although investigators found that the cash flow had entered PT Viandra Production's bank account, the funds were later channeled to a third party, Sonny said.
He urged the AGO to investigate who had accepted the money from the program.
'They need to cast their net wide to see who actually enjoyed the money,' Sonny said.
On Thursday, Mandra filed a report with the National Police against two individuals, only identified by their initials G and I, for allegedly forging his signature on 30 documents.
'I've never signed a contract with the second party, that's what I've reported [to the police],' Mandra said.
