Made Daging Wins Pre-trial Challenge as Judge Rules Detention Unlawful
A single-judge pre-trial hearing at Denpasar District Court (PN Denpasar) has ordered Bali Police to release I Made Daging, the former head of the Bali Regional Office of the National Land Agency (BPN). Judge Kadek Dedy Arcana issued the order after ruling that Made Daging’s detention was unlawful.
The ruling was delivered at a pre-trial hearing at Denpasar District Court on Tuesday (13 October 2026). The judge declared Detention Warrant No. SP.Han/31/IX/WJA/Ditreskrimsus/1.24/2026/Ditreskrimsus, dated 16 September 2026, invalid and without binding legal force.
The judge also ordered the respondent to release Made Daging from detention with immediate effect if he was being held under that warrant.
Although his detention was ruled unlawful, Made Daging’s status as a suspect remains unchanged. The judge upheld the legality of his designation as a suspect.
The ruling means Made Daging’s challenge to his detention has succeeded, but it does not alter his suspect status.
His lawyer, Gede Pasek Suardika, said his client must be released immediately. His team will go to Bali Police to arrange the ruling’s implementation after receiving an official copy from the court.
“Our client must be released today, because the judge has delivered the ruling. We are therefore waiting for the original judgment, and will go straight to the Bali Police detention and evidence unit to request his release,” Pasek said after the hearing.
Pasek said the ruling showed that detention must meet the applicable legal requirements, rather than being imposed solely because investigators fear certain eventualities.
The legal team is also preparing a complaint over alleged false statements in the investigation record (BAP). Pasek said the complaint would be filed after Made Daging is released.
“Once our client is out, we will immediately file a counter-report. The report concerns the investigation record. It contains false statements, and that is what we will report,” he said.
Pasek also disclosed plans to lodge a third pre-trial application. The next application is expected to challenge the termination of an investigation and the revocation of the suspect designation in an earlier case.
He argued that a case in which a suspect designation has been upheld in a pre-trial ruling should be brought before a court for trial.
“Let the trial decide that Mr Daging is innocent, rather than investigators terminating the case,” Pasek said.
Meanwhile, Bali Police’s lawyer, Senior Commissioner I Nyoman Gatra, said the force accepted the ruling and would comply with the judge’s decision.
“We must follow and accept whatever the honourable pre-trial judge has decided. The judge has exercised their authority, so we are obliged to submit to, follow and carry out the decision,” Gatra said by telephone.
On Made Daging’s release, Gatra said implementation was a technical matter for investigators. Bali Police was still waiting for the court’s official ruling before deciding on the next steps.
“As for the release, when it happens and other details are a technical matter for the investigators, but we are certainly waiting for the court’s decision,” he said.
Gatra also said Bali Police was ready to respond if Made Daging’s side filed another pre-trial application.