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Police seek President's permission to question Masinton on assault
Dita leaves the office of the Legal Aid Foundation of Indonesian Women's Association for Justice (LBH Apik) in Jakarta to report the alleged assault by her boss, lawmaker Masinton Pasaribu
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Dita leaves the office of the Legal Aid Foundation of Indonesian Women's Association for Justice (LBH Apik) in Jakarta to report the alleged assault by her boss, lawmaker Masinton Pasaribu. (thejakartapost.com/Wienda Parwitasari) (LBH Apik) in Jakarta to report the alleged assault by her boss, lawmaker Masinton Pasaribu. (thejakartapost.com/Wienda Parwitasari)
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span class="inline inline-center">Dita leaves the office of the Legal Aid Foundation of Indonesian Women's Association for Justice (LBH Apik) in Jakarta to report the alleged assault by her boss, lawmaker Masinton Pasaribu. (thejakartapost.com/Wienda Parwitasari)
The police are seeking permission from President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo to investigate a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Masinton Pasaribu, who has been accused of assaulting a female aide on Jan. 21.
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto said police investigators would continue to question witnesses in connection with the alleged assault after they summoned and questioned Dita Aditia Ismawati, who reported Masinton, her boss, to the police for allegedly punching her in the eye.
Dita cried after undergoing police questioning regarding the case on Feb. 4. She also declined to respond to questions from journalists about the interview, sparking speculation that she had withdrawn her report with the police. Agus denied that Dita had revoked her allegations.
'So far, the investigators have not received any information about the revocation of the case. The investigators are now making a timetable to summon those who have connections to the case,' Agus said on Wednesday as reported by tribunnews.com.
Dita, who is one of Masinton's expert staff members, claimed he punched her in the eye after he picked up her from a café in Central Jakarta.
Apart from reporting Masinton to the police, Dita also sought support from the Legal Aid Foundation of Indonesian Women's Association for Justice (LBH APIK) and from the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan). LBH APIK has reported the case to the House of Representatives ethics council.
Masinton has denied the allegations, saying the bruise on Dita's face was unintentionally caused by the driver of the vehicle. Dita claimed she was alone in the car with Masinton.
The police are currently preparing a letter to the President to seek permission to summon and interrogate Masinton as existing laws require law enforcers to gain permission to question members of the House, the People's Consultative Assembly and the Regional Representatives Council.
'This case is still in the early stages; the investigators are still working on it,' Agus stressed. (bbn)(+)
