“One solid fact is that even though gambling is considered a crime here, it may not be in other countries,” Insp. Gen. (ret) Benny Mamoto, a police expert from the University of Indonesia (UI), told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. “So, we can’t expect much in terms of [police] cooperation if we decide to go after match-fixers from abroad. We need to tread carefully.”

Even if these suspects were brought to Indonesia and found guilty, they would likely be given a small sentence, he said. The maximum punishment for gambling here is four years’ imprisonment.

Benny suggested that the National Police build a case against the suspects for other crimes that have heavier punishments, such as money laundering, drug trafficking, terrorism, human trafficking and premeditated murder. These offenses would also prompt foreign law enforcement agencies to cooperate with their Indonesian counterpart.

 “The police need to gather solid evidence that proves the suspects have committed serious crimes in Indonesia so they could try them here.”

The head of the antimatch-fixing task force, Brig. Gen. Hendro Pandowo, said on Tuesday that he had met with Youth and Sports Ministry secretary Gatot S. Dewo Broto to discuss strategies on combating the practice in Indonesian soccer.

“We expect the police to be firm and swift in handling [match-fixing cases]. They will have our full cooperation,” Gatot said.

Prevention would be the task force’s top priority, Hendro said, and one way would be to monitor the recruitment of national Under-20 players, who will be representing the country at the 2021 Under-20 World Cup held in Indonesia.

The former Bandung Police chief also said that investigators had received information on the possible role of individuals or groups from abroad in local match-fixing practices and were aiming to build a case around it.

 “We are going to develop the case. Therefore, we need to dig deeper and find more evidence.”

National Team Supporters Association chief Ignatius Indro acknowledged that match-fixing might not be considered a serious crime in Indonesia because the punishment was not severe enough. Putting that aside, he was confident that the police could enlist the help of the public in their investigation.

“Of course, not everything about the investigation can be revealed to the public, but people could still help the task force by providing information and being its eyes and ears in the field to limit these match-fixers’ movements,” he said.

Indro added that despite the short prison sentence for match-fixing, the police’s arrest of 18 suspected perpetrators, most of whom were connected to the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI), was greatly appreciated.

The case had also involved members of the public, he said, and they could be encouraged to cooperate again in the future.

“But on a more serious note, this is a good opportunity for us all — especially the government and lawmakers — to consider proposing a heavier punishment for people found guilty of match-fixing, so we can [improve] Indonesian soccer.”

PSSI chief Comr. Gen. Mochamad Iriawan has vowed to rid the country’s sports of illegal practices, saying that the PSSI had formulated a number of strategies and would be ready to join forces with the police in carrying them out.

The first iteration of the National Police’s antimatch-fixing task force uncovered the involvement of 18 people in match-fixing practices in 2018, which also led to the arrest of acting PSSI chief Joko Driyono for obstructing its investigation.

However, many of the 18 perpetrators, including Joko, were sentenced to only one to three years in prison and have since walked free.

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