The police named lawyer Anita Kolopaking a suspect for allegedly using forged letters to travel and helping her client, graft convict and fugitive Djoko Sugiarto Tjandra, on the run.
The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) arrested Anita Kolopaking, the lawyer of graft convict Djoko Sugiarto Tjandra, on Saturday.
National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Awi Setiyono said investigators arrested Anita after she was questioned as a suspect on Friday. The interrogation lasted until early Saturday, and the lawyer answered 55 questions from investigators.
“Anita will be detained in Bareskrim’s detention center for the next 20 days,” Awi said on Saturday, as quoted by kompas.com.
Bareskrim previously named Anita a suspect on July 30 and brought multiple charges against her for her alleged role in using forged letters to travel and helping a criminal on the run.
The Supreme Court sentenced Djoko to two years of imprisonment in 2009 for his involvement in the high-profile Bank Bali corruption case. However, the businessman fled to Papua New Guinea a day before the court ruling.
After a decade fleeing, Djoko managed to return to Indonesia undetected, have his new identity documents issued and file for a case review for his two-year prison sentence with the South Jakarta District Court.
Read also: AGO looks into possible crimes in prosecutor's alleged meetings with Djoko Tjandra abroad
The case implicated three high-ranking police generals, who were removed for their alleged role in helping the convict travel within the country.
One of the generals, Brig. Gen. Prasetyo Utomo was named a suspect by the police for allegedly issuing forged travel letters for Djoko and Anita in his capacity as the head of Bareskrim’s Civil Servant Investigator Supervisory and Coordination Bureau.
Asep Subahan, the subdistrict head of South Grogol in West Jakarta, was also dismissed for allegedly issuing an e-ID card for Djoko.
The police eventually arrested Djoko in Malaysia on July 30 and brought him back home.
The Law and Human Rights Ministry announced that Djoko had returned to Salemba detention center in Central Jakarta on Friday. He was previously detained in Bareskrim’s detention center to undergo several questionings.
The ministry’s corrections directorate general spokesperson Rika Aprianti said Djoko was undergoing an orientation and 14-day self-isolation in an isolation cell as part of the COVID-19 health protocol for inmates.
“After finishing his orientation and self-isolation, he will be placed in the prison with other convicts,” Rika said in a statement. (dpk)
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