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Clueless winning bidder of Jokowi's motorcycle deals with police after failing to pay
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo poses on an electric motorcycle, branded as Gesits, at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Nov. 7, 2018. The motorcycle is a local product. (Kompas.com/PT Gesits Technologies Indo)
A
man, who was named the winning bidder in a charity auction of a Rp 2.55 billion (US$172,715) electric motorcycle owned and signed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, was questioned by the Jambi Police on Thursday after failing to pay.
M. Nuh was investigated by the police after he failed to come up with the money after winning the bid in a virtual charity concert on Sunday.
Nuh, a construction worker, claimed he was not aware that he had taken part in the bidding, said Jambi Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Santyabudi.
"After the questioning, we found out that [Nuh] did not know that he participated in an auction. He thought he won [the motorcycle] as a gift at the charity event," Firman said on Thursday as reported by kompas.com.
The concert, a fundraiser for people affected by COVID-19, was organized by People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo, the Agency for Pancasila Ideology Education (BPIP) and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
Sunday’s concert, entitled Berbagi Kasih Bersama Bimbo (Sharing the Love with Bimbo), was aired live by state-run television broadcaster TVRI.
The event managed to raise more than Rp 4 billion in donations.
Firman said Nuh went to the police on Thursday after the auction management asked him to pay the Rp 2.5 billion.
"He was afraid so he went to the Pasar district police in Jambi city, asking for protection," he said, adding that Nuh was not arrested.
In response, MPR Speaker Bambang requested on Friday that the Jambi Police drop the case.
“We do not see any problem at all [regarding Nuh’s misunderstanding], and I’ve requested the Jambi Police to let him go,” Bambang said as quoted by kompas.com.
He went on to say that several businessmen had contacted him to request another round of bidding as they were interested in the motorcycle, branded as Gesits. (nal)
