Indonesia detains top corruption suspect Novanto after he claimed injury in car crash
Independent panel of doctors concluded there was no need for Setya Novanto’s continued hospitalisation
Indonesia’s parliament speaker, Setya Novanto, was taken into custody by the anti-corruption agency after being arrested over his alleged role in causing state losses of US$170 million linked to a national electronic identity card scheme.
Novanto, dressed in an orange detainee vest, was transferred from a hospital on Sunday night into a Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) detention facility.
He is one of the most senior politicians to be detained by the agency, popular among ordinary Indonesians for targeting members of the establishment suspected of abuse of power.
Novanto was arrested on Friday night but his detention was postponed while he received treatment for injuries suffered in a car crash the day before.
“Delay of the arrest is no longer needed,” as a medical statement showed Novanto did not need further hospital treatment, Laode Muhammad Syarif, the deputy head of the agency, said in a video on its official Periscope page.
On Sunday night, Novanto told reporters he was still suffering from vertigo after the crash that he said had injured a leg, an arm and his head.