O

mbudsman officials on Thursday met with personnel from the Jakarta Police who are handling the investigation into an acid attack on senior Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan to seek clarification on alleged maladministration in the questioning of Muhammad Lestaluhu, a witness in the case.

“Today, we are trying to get clarification from the police as to what exactly happened during the questioning of Muhammad Lestaluhu,” Ombudsman commissioner Adrianus Meliala told journalists on Thursday.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Raden Prabowo Argo Yuwono said the police summoned Lestaluhu only as a witness and had cleared him as a possible suspect. Police had checked Lestaluhu’s profile and alibi during the attack on Novel and decided they would not upgrade his status to suspect.

Lestaluhu lost his job as a security guard at a hotel in Central Jakarta after a rumor circulated that he was one of the suspects in the attack on the KPK investigator.

The rumor circulated after the North Jakarta Police summoned Lestaluhu for questioning. The management of the hotel where Lestaluhu used to work said it was uncomfortable with the rumor as well as Lestaluhu’s questioning by the police and media coverage. The Ombudsman’s office will publish its findings next week.