Brig. Gen. Prasetijo Utomo Detained for Facilitating Djoko Tjandra
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2 August 2020 11:00 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) arrested Brigadier General Prasetijo Utomo for issuing a forged travel letter that facilitated the convict and fugitive business tycoon Djoko Tjandra to make trips abroad.
The police general was placed under police detention for four days after being named a suspect for enabling Djoko Tjandra, who had recently returned to Indonesia after fleeing justice for over a decade, to escape to Malaysia.
"Yes, (he is detained) as of Friday, July 31, 2020," Brig. Gen. Awi Setiyono, the Indonesian Police’s spokesman, stated on Friday.
Utomo could face six years in jail if convicted for issuing the travel letter to the fugitive.
Apart from Utomo, Baresktrim has also named Anita Dewi Anggraeni Kolopaking, Tjandra's legal counsel, as a suspect in the same case.
Bareskrim has issued a letter for the immigration office to ban Kolopaking from leaving Indonesia.
Following an outcry in the country, Bareskrim had arrested Tjandra in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 30, 2020.
Bareskrim Chief Commissioner General Listyo Sigit Prabowo emphasized that the police’s success in capturing Tjandra in Malaysia reflected its seriousness in handling the case.
"This certainly puts to rest the public's doubts over whether the police could arrest him," he affirmed.
The arrest was made in cooperation with the Malaysian Police.
The Supreme Court found Tjandra guilty of embezzling billions of rupiah from the state bailout fund during the 1998 Asian financial crisis and was sentenced to two years in jail in 2009 and ordered to pay Rp546 billion (US$54 million) in restitution. He was acquitted by the South Jakarta District Court in 2000.
However, Djoko Tjandra fled to Papua New Guinea a day before the court sentencing was delivered and had remained at large ever since. For the last 11 years, Tjandra has managed to evade justice.
However, Djoko Tjandra had been in Indonesia for the past three months to file a case review against his conviction with the South Jakarta District Court in early June.
The South Jakarta District Court on Friday dropped the case review petition filed by Djoko Tjandra against his guilty conviction after he repeatedly failed to show up for the hearings.
Read also: Police to Examine Djoko Tjandra Intensively
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