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Police still looking into motive behind assault of KPK officials
Following questioning of the two KPK officials, Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said the two KPK officials were not investigators but probers, suggesting they had not been involved in a raid or sting operation.
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Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan (right) and his wife Emilda greet supporters at a rally in front of the KPK offices in Jakarta on Tuesday. The rally was held to show support for the KPK after recent attacks on its leaders. Novel was a victim of an acid attack in 2017, and the police have yet to find the perpetrators. (The Jakarta Post/Seto Wardhana)
T
he Jakarta Police are still investigating the motive behind the assault of two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officials, who were recently attacked while reportedly tailing Papua Governor Lukas Enembe.
The two officials, who were previously reported as KPK investigators, were following up a tip-off about alleged corruption at Hotel Borobudur in Central Jakarta, where officials from the Papua administration, including Lukas, were holding a meeting with members of the Papua Legislative Council (DPRD Papua).
The KPK officials were then assaulted by unidentified assailants.
Following questioning of the two KPK officials, Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said the two KPK officials were not investigators but probers, suggesting they had not been involved in a raid or sting operation.
Probing is an early stage in an investigation in which the KPK conducts an assessment on whether there is a case of graft or not and whether a tip-off can be further developed into an investigation.
Argo said KPK deputy chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif had picked up the officials after the questioning on Sunday evening.
“We have yet to find out [the reason for the assault]. We still don’t have any information on the matter,” Argo said on Monday, as quoted by kompas.com.
The KPK reported the attacks to the Jakarta Police on Sunday without elaborating to public on the case the officials had been working on at the hotel, or whether it involved Lukas.
DPRD Papua Speaker Yunus Yonda told Antara on Sunday that Papua provincial administration employees had detained KPK employees who had been tailing Lukas. Yunus, however, stopped short of saying they had assaulted the KPK officials.
Antara reported that one of the KPK investigators, identified only as Muhammad Gilang W., was caught taking pictures of Lukas by Papua administration regional secretary Hery Dosinaen. They allegedly took his phone and discovered a WhatsApp chat detailing Lukas’ activity upon attending the meeting at the hotel.
KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah said the assailants had continued the attack even after the officials had shown them their KPK identification cards. The injured officials were being prepared on Sunday afternoon for surgery for a broken nose and other facial injuries.
The assailants had also confiscated some of the officials’ belongings, Febri said, declining to divulge details.
Febri said on Monday that the KPK had submitted information about the identity of the alleged assailants to the Jakarta Police, including a photo of them.
“We expect the case will be handled immediately, because we have provided visual information,” he said. “We will also hand [a medical report] over to the police.”
Febri said the assault should be deemed an obstruction of justice, in which the assailants tried to disrupt the work of law enforcement officials.
Yunus said on Monday that the KPK officials were not assaulted. He said that the officials were taken to the Jakarta Police headquarters after the Papua officials discovered them in their gathering at the hotel.
"When we took them to the Jakarta Police, they were in good condition. We took them to make sure that they were KPK officials. [At that time] no bruise, no blood. Everything was normal," he said.
Yunus also said the Papua officials had the right to question the KPK officials who had taken pictures during their meeting because the activities had intruded privacy. (afr)
