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Immigration, KPK in hot water for inability to find Harun
Ronny, a retired police general, became the center of controversy when he, as the director general of immigration, said Harun was still in Singapore on Jan. 13, prompting Yasonna to release the same information.
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Former Law and Human Rights Ministry immigration director general Ronny F. Sompie (center) addresses a press conference in Jakarta on Oct. 28, 2019. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
W
ith the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician and graft suspect Harun Masiku still at liberty, the Law and Human Rights Ministry has removed Ronny Sompie from his post as immigration director general pending the outcome of an investigation by an independent team that will examine the misinformation from that office that hampered the hunt for the suspect.
Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly said on Tuesday that a joint team would probe what had led to the false information from the immigration office that had stated that Harun was in Singapore, when he had in fact already returned to Indonesia when the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) began searching for him.
The joint team will consist of members of the National Police, the Communications and Information Ministry, the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN) and the Indonesian Ombudsman.
“[Ronny’s removal] is to prevent any conflict of interest that may hamper the investigation,” Yasonna said at the State Palace.
Harun is accused of giving Rp 600 million (US$43,950) in bribes to General Elections Commission (KPU) member Wahyu Setiawan in his alleged attempt to secure a spot as a lawmaker. Despite both having been named suspects, the antigraft body has only managed to arrest Wahyu while Harun remains at large.
Tempo magazine previously reported that Harun had left for Singapore on Jan. 6 but returned to Indonesia the next day, via Soekarno-Hatta International Airport both ways, indicating that Harun was already in Indonesia when the KPK named him a suspect in the case.
Ronny, a retired police general, became the center of controversy when he, as the director general of immigration, said Harun was still in Singapore on Jan. 13, prompting Yasonna to release the same information.
