Indonesian anti-graft agency chief named as suspect amid feud with police

Indonesian anti-graft agency chief named as suspect amid feud with police

Police named the head of Indonesia's anti-graft agency as a suspect on Tuesday in a case related to a falsified document from 2007, the highest-ranking official yet to be caught up in a feud between the two rival law enforcement agencies.

The two most senior officers from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) have now been identified by police as suspects in different criminal cases as part of a dispute with police that has raised concerns about the future of Indonesia's popular anti-graft agency. "Abraham Samad has been named a suspect for falsifying a document," Endi Sutendi, spokesman for South and West Sulawesi police, told a news conference in a live broadcast. No specific details about the 2007 case or Samad's alleged role were given.

KPK officials could not be reached immediately for comment.

Samad's deputy, Bambang Widjojanto, was named as a suspect by police last month in a 2010 perjury complaint. Police had earlier threatened to name the agency's four most senior commissioners as suspects in various criminal cases.

Under Indonesian law, police can name individuals as suspects in a case without detailing specific charges.

Tension between the two rival law enforcement agencies has increased in recent weeks and sparked public outrage over what many consider a blow to anti-corruption efforts in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

Activists have rallied in support of the agency, calling police actions a blow to the fledgling anti-graft movement in a country that consistently ranks among the most corrupt in the world, according to Transparency International.

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