Jakarta (ANTARA) – Budi Arie Setiadi, Indonesia’s former Minister of Communication and Informatics, was summoned by the police as a witness in an online gambling case involving officials from the ministry.
“As a law-abiding citizen, I am obliged to assist the police in completing the eradication of online gambling cases within the ministry,” he said at the National Police (Polri) headquarters in Jakarta on Thursday.
Setiadi was questioned for two hours by investigators. However, he did not provide details about the substance of the investigation.
“Please ask the authority regarding the material and content of the information I provided today,” he said.
He said that his presence was aimed at eradicating online gambling cases, whose number is increasing in Indonesia.
“Eradicating online gambling is our shared responsibility as citizens of the nation. Therefore, consistency and determination are needed to combat it, especially to protect the community,” he said.
Setiadi was seen in the building of Polri’s Criminal Investigation Unit at 5:15 p.m. local time. He stopped for about two to three minutes to issue a press statement and then left in his car.
On Thursday morning, Deputy Chief of Polri’s Corruption Eradication Corps, Brigadier General Arief Adiharsa, confirmed Setiadi’s questioning.
Earlier, the Jakarta Metro Police uncovered the online gambling case involving employees at the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (previously Ministry of Communication and Informatics).
In this case, the Jakarta Metro Police’s Directorate of General Criminal Investigation has named 28 suspects.
“In total, we have arrested 24 suspects and placed four people on the wanted list,” chief of the Jakarta Metro Police, Inspector General Karyoto, said.
Setiadi served as the Minister of Communication and Informatics from July 17, 2023, to October 20, 2024.
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Translator: Nadia Putri, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Anton Santoso
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