The KPK Had Chased Governor Rohidin Mersyah During OTT In Bengkulu

Bengkulu Governor Rohidin Mersyah (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said that the Governor of Bengkulu Rohidin Mersyah was indicated that he would run away when he was about to be charged with a hand arrest operation (OTT) on Saturday, November 23. He is said to have gone to the North Bengkulu area.

This was conveyed by the Director of Investigation of the KPK Asep Guntur who explained the conditions on the ground when the silent operation was carried out. He said the team that left for Bengkulu had found Rohidin was not at the location that had been monitored.

"So, at that time, RM's brother, RM's brother was no longer there. He was somewhere, then we monitored him, and then the person concerned returned," Asep said in a press conference broadcast on the Indonesian KPK YouTube, Sunday night, November 24.

When he found Rohidin again, Asep said the team would make arrests. However, he actually tried to escape even until North Bengkulu, which had a distance of almost three hours.

"There is a process of chasing each other, that's where. Then for short we can catch the story with the team," he explained.

Rohidin was then taken to the Bengkulu Police Headquarters after being arrested. He was questioned before being taken to the KPK's Red and White House, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta.

"We from the KPK would like to express our deepest gratitude for the assistance of the Bengkulu Police and the Bengkulu Police," he said.

Previously reported, the KPK held a hand arrest operation (OTT) in Bengkulu Province on Saturday, November 23 and brought eight people for questioning. Then, three people were named as suspects, namely Bengkulu Governor Rohidin Mersyah, Bengkulu Provincial Secretary (Sekda) Isnan Fajri and Evrianshah alias Anca who is the Adc Governor of Bengkulu.

When the OTT was carried out, investigators found IDR 7 billion in rupiah currency denominations, US dollars, and Singapore dollars. Furthermore, the suspects will be detained for the next 20 days and will be extended according to the rules and needs of investigators.

The three suspects are suspected of violating Article 12 letter e and Article 12B in Law Number 31 of 1999 as amended in Law Number 20 of 2001 in conjunction with Article 55 of the Criminal Code.