Are corruption suspects in a position to make demands? Yes, according to the family of Papua Governor Lukas Enembe following his arrest this week.
Lukas was arrested in a sting operation on Tuesday in Jayapura months after he was named a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for bribery. He was flown to Jakarta that afternoon.
Footage that has since emerged showed that the governor boarded a small plane in Jayapura. That, his family said, represented an insult towards Lukas.
“We as a family devoted ourselves to this country for 20 years, but we gave them a finger, and they want to take the whole hand,” Lukas’ younger brother, Elius, said in Jakarta yesterday.
“We couldn’t even ask KPK not to kidnap [Lukas]. It’s against regulations to take a sick man to Jakarta. And they didn’t fly him in a Garuda. This is a crime.”
Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is arguably the country’s most premium airline.
Lukas’ family and lawyer have also lambasted authorities for not allowing them to see him in detention.
KPK named Lukas a suspect in September 2022, with the governor accused of receiving IDR1 billion (US$66,624) in bribes related to infrastructure projects in his province.
Lukas has missed numerous KPK summons for questioning, citing health reasons in one instance.
Also in September 2022, the Center for Financial Transaction Reporting and Analysis (PPATK) said it obtained evidence that Lukas had made transactions at casinos abroad amounting to SGD55 million (IDR560 billion or US$39 million).
