(wartakota.tribunnews.com/Panji Baskhara Ramadhan)

Ex-tax officer, now prisoner, Gayus Halomoan Tambunan has admitted that he did indeed enjoy a meal at a restaurant recently, the photo of which went viral on social media.

According to a spokesman for the directorate general for penitentiaries, Akbar Hadi, Gayus gave the confirmation during questioning by the directorate's team on Monday night.

"Gayus has admitted that he went out for lunch [that day]," said Akbar on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.

Gayus also said that he did not recognize the two women who were in the photo with him.

Akbar said the investigation were still in the process of matching Gayus' confession with the statement from his security officers.

"We will investigate it further. How come Gayus didn't know [the two women]?" said Akbar.

Akbar added that Gayus had been in isolation since Monday morning at the Sukamiskin penitentiary in Bandung, West Java, following the incident. His security officers have also been questioned. They admitted that Gayus' lawyer invited them to eat at the restaurant after escorting the ex-tax officer prisoner to his divorce hearing at the North Jakarta Religious Court on Sept. 9.

The ministry's West Java regional office head, I Wayan Sukerta, confirmed that the penitentiary permitted Gayus to leave the prison on Sept. 9 to attend the hearing.

Gayus left the prison previously, in Nov. 2010, while the trial of his case was still ongoing at the South Jakarta District Court. On that occasion, Kompas daily newspaper photographer Agus Susanto took photos of him watching a 2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions tennis match in Nusa Dua, Bali. (edn/kes)(++++)

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