T

he Attorney General’s Office (AGO) vowed on Sunday that it would handle the case of alleged reckless driver Rasyid Rajasa in a professional manner amid allegations of special treatment accorded by law enforcers to the son of a
senior Cabinet minister.

“There will be no interference. Our actions will be based on existing regulations in order to uphold the law,” Deputy Attorney General Darmono told reporters on Sunday.

The Jakarta Police submitted Rasyid’s case file to prosecutors on Saturday, after completing their questioning of Rasyid — the youngest son of Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa — at the Dr. Sukanto National Police Hospital in East Jakarta on Friday.

The process only took 11 days after the Jan. 1 accident, which some critics said was too short a time for the police to wrap up an investigation. The police watchdog, Indonesia Police Watch (IPW), has accused the police of washing their hands of the high-profile case by expediting the investigation. The watchdog also said the police may not conduct a reconstruction of the accident.

In contrast, the police have not yet completed the dossier on Andika Pradika, who is also accused of reckless driving following a series of collisions that left two people dead and five others injured on Jl. Ampera, South Jakarta in December, a few days before Rasyid’s accident.

The police decided not to detain Rasyid, who was named a suspect a day after the incident, based on the argument that Hatta’s family had guaranteed that he would not attempt to flee. Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said that Rasyid had been discharged from hospital on Friday afternoon, due to his improved physical condition. However, he was judged to be suffering psychological after-effects, for which he would receive treatment at home.

The police’s decision to not detain Rasyid raised questions over the force’s impartiality in handling the case, in view of Hatta’s status as a minister and his daughter’s recent marriage to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s youngest son, Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono.

IPW chairman Neta. S. Pane previously said that the fact that Rasyid had been negligent and caused the deaths of two people was more than enough grounds for an arrest.

Meanwhile, however, Darmono said it was up to investigators whether to detain Rasyid or not. He added that investigators only kept a suspect in custody if they were worried the suspect would flee.

“Detention is not mandatory according to the law. If there’s no concern [of a flight risk], detention is unnecessary,” he said.

Rasyid Rajasa was involved in a fatal collision on the Jagorawi toll road near South Jakarta on New Year’s Day that killed two people and injured three others.

He was driving a BMW X5 sport utility vehicle (SUV) at 120 kilometers per hour when he rear-ended a Daihatsu Luxio on the toll road. Police said the accident had occurred because Rasyid, who did not test positive for alcohol or drugs, was drowsy after staying up all night to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Kemang, South Jakarta, with his girlfriend, Prilia Kinanti.

Police named him a suspect of reckless driving after a brief questioning session at the VVIP unit of the Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta.

Police said that Rasyid would likely be charged with reckless driving resulting in the death and injury of others, as stipulated in the 2009 Traffic and Public Transportation Law. According to the police, Rasyid could face at least five years’ imprisonment if found guilty. (nad)