Considering JC Status, AGO to Immediately Examine Sony in Free Nutritious Meals Case

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has stated it will soon examine former Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Sony Sonjaya, in the corruption case concerning the management of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme. The Director of Investigation for the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, said the examination is being conducted to follow up on Sony’s application for justice collaborator (JC) status. “The application is currently being studied to determine what information will be provided and what evidence we have already obtained,” he stated during a press conference on Thursday (11/6). He explained that through this examination, investigators will probe the new information Sony might offer. Syarief noted that investigators will not only request the names of involved parties but also seek other critical details. “We will examine suspect SS so that the person concerned can explain to us what information he has gained. So it is not just names, but what the information entails,” he said. He emphasised that this is crucial to deciding whether Sony’s JC application will be accepted in the case. “Later it will determine whether this JC application can be accepted or not, because JC status is granted to a perpetrator who is willing to become a witness to expose a larger role,” he added. Previously, Sony officially submitted his application to be a Justice Collaborator in the MBG programme governance corruption case. Sony’s lawyer, Krisna Murti, stated that the JC application was not filed to avoid the ongoing legal process. He claimed that through the JC mechanism, his client would cooperate and reveal other parties involved in the case. Krisna admitted his client had been contacted by many figures in executive, legislative, and judicial circles regarding the MBG programme. He even mentioned that Sony had already conveyed the names of 26 such figures to investigators at the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes. He asserted that all communication evidence is clearly recorded on Sony’s mobile phone, which has been confiscated by investigators. Consequently, Krisna urged the authorities to make the conversation evidence public.