During a hearing at the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs, Attorney General HM Prasetyo said the proposal was made since there were many suspects who underwent health check-ups abroad but did not return to Indonesia.

Prasetyo said the prosecutors' corps ran the hospital in Cipayung, East Jakarta, but its facility was very limited. "We want to upgrade the hospital so it will be capable of conducting forensics too,” Prasetyo told lawmakers on Wednesday.

“We were often deceived by [graft] suspects or convicts who sought permission for medical treatment abroad. In the future, if they want to undergo health check-ups abroad, they will have to obtain a reference letter from Adhyaksa hospital."

Read also: From ‘apples’ to ‘pengajian’: Code words to mask graft

Commission III members previously questioned reports saying that high-ranking officials or politicians implicated in corruption could have access to facilities abroad.

Suspects or witnesses in graft cases often fail to fulfill investigation summons, citing health issues.

House speaker and Golkar Party chairman Setya Novanto, who has been implicated in a high-profile e-ID corruption case, for example, claimed to be ill when he did not fulfill a summons by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). (afr/bbs)

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