TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) announced the arrest of an individual responsible for spreading a hoax that a Chinese national became a Brimob officer during the May 22 protest in Jakarta.

“The content that the suspect [Said Djamalul Abidin] spread was meant to spark hostility,” said Sr. Comr. Rickynaldo Chairul of Bareskrim's Cyber Crime Directorate on Friday.

Said Djamal was arrested in Bekasi on May 23, 2019. The police said the suspect worked as an entrepreneur.

Read: Police Say Brimob Personnel Not from China

The police explained the suspect received a selfie image of a person with three Brimob personnel who guarded the May 22 protest and decided to share the image with a caption suggesting that the Indonesian police used the services of foreign policemen.

In a police conference denying the claims, the three policemen took off their masks to clearly reveal their faces. Ricky explained that the three Brimob officers hailed from the North Sumatra Police's Brimob squad.

Said, who was present at the conference, maintained that he received the text and image from another person and only shared the content but eventually apologized for his action, for which he faced possible 6 years' imprisonment under the ITE Law.

M ROSSENO AJI