Furthermore, the National Police has set up a technical team that has coordinated with the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore to check the health history of the victim
Jakarta (ANTARA) - National Police Chief General Idham Aziz has vouched for the Indonesian Police making optimal efforts to investigate an attack case on Novel Baswedan in April 2017.

"We have also coordinated with external parties, such as the KPK (Corruption Eradication Commission), Kompolnas (National Police Commission), Komnas HAM (National Human Rights Commission), Ombudsman, and professional experts, as well as with the Australian Federal Police (AFP)," Aziz remarked during a hearing with Commission III of the House of Representatives (DPR) here on Wednesday.

During the investigation process, the police cross-examined 73 witnesses, conducted checks of 78 CCTV spots, and coordinated with the AFP to scrutinize the CCTV recordings around the location, he noted.

The police also scanned through the guest lists at hotels and rented rooms in proximity to the site of the attack and conducted checks at 114 shops selling chemical substances within a one-kilometer-radius of the scene.

"(We conducted) a facial reconstruction of the person suspected to be the perpetrator, detained three suspected witnesses, and checked alibis but were not proven. (We have also) published the facial sketch, searched for the suspect, opened a 24-hour hotline, and followed up on every tip-off," he stated.

The police also established an internal supervisory team to audit the investigation process and also coordinated and communicated with external parties: KPK, Komnas HAM, Kompolnas, and Ombudsman, he revealed.

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Based on a recommendation of the Komnas HAM, the police also formed an expert team and a fact-finding team constituting seven academicians in different disciplines to back the investigation process, he remarked.

"Furthermore, the National Police set up a technical team that has coordinated with the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore to check the health history of the victim and further studied the sketch of the perpetrator with 282 data that we had obtained from Disdukcapil (the office of population administration and civil registry)," he noted.

The police will continue to look for the perpetrator and will offer access for the KPK to verify the investigation conducted by the police.

Over two years have gone by since KPK senior investigator Baswedan became the target of an acid attack that resulted in loss of vision in his left eye, but the perpetrators are yet at large and remain unidentified until now. Baswedan was fatally attacked while heading home after performing Fajr, or the Dawn prayer, at a mosque nearby when two motorcyclists hurled acid on his face that injured his eyes, particularly the left eye, on April 11, 2017.

Baswedan, a retired police officer, had joined the anti-graft agency in 2007 and was tasked with investigating major corruption cases, including those allegedly involving several high-ranking officials. Since then, he has been frequently terrorized and attacked.

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Translator: Imam Budilaksono, Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
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