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Police continue processing Batam businessman for WhatsApp post
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Police have screened a defamation case implicating businessman Makruf Maulana in Batam, Riau Islands, for posting a meme that has been perceived as insulting the police. (AP/Patrick Sison)
P
olice have screened a defamation case implicating businessman Makruf Maulana in Batam, Riau Islands, for posting a meme that has been perceived as insulting the police.
After the case screening on Thursday evening, Makruf, who is the chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Riau Islands chapter, apologized for posting the meme, which contained the text: “If a cooking pan bomb fails to divert the issue [from another case], try a thermal bottle [thermos] bomb.”
“As Kadin chairman, I have apologized [for my actions] in relation to the matter. I have admitted to having made a mistake,” Makruf, who was accompanied by his lawyer Masrur Amin, said.
The meme, which was posted in a WhatsApp social media group, allegedly aimed to make a joke out of a case in which the police successfully foiled a plan to bomb the State Palace with an explosive device partly made from a cooking pan by assailants in Bekasi, West Java.
Responding to the apology, Riau Islands Police chief Insp. Gen. Sambudi Gusdian said the police would continue the case, but added that Makruf’s status was a witness.
The police also have questioned six witnesses who are members of the WhatsApp group and are processing the case in accordance with the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, which carries a maximum sentence of four years’ imprisonment. (jun)
