New Facts in Taufik Hidayat Case: He Sought Protection from Former Boss Before Surrendering

The perpetrator of the confinement and assault against YTR, Taufik Hidayat, was finally apprehended by a joint team from the West Java Regional Police on Tuesday evening, 23 June 2026. The arrest was facilitated by Dadang Ahyar Ismail, Taufik Hidayat’s former superior. Dadang disclosed that Taufik had contacted him to seek advice regarding his case, which had gone viral.

‘A few days ago, Taufik called me and said, “What should I do, sir? I’ve suddenly gone viral across Indonesia.” Then I saw that it was indeed viral, and I asked him what he wanted,’ Dadang said, as quoted from a TvOne broadcast on Thursday, 24 June 2026.

Dadang explained that Taufik had asked him for protection. He suspected the request arose because Taufik knew one of Dadang’s children was a police officer. ‘He said, “What do you think, sir, about asking for protection?” Perhaps because my child is in the police force, he thought of that. I told him, “Look, if you keep running, you’ll be on the run until you’re an old man and you’ll definitely be exhausted,”’ he stated.

Dadang admitted he provided Taufik with several considerations to persuade him to surrender. He argued that if Taufik continued to flee, he risked being caught by members of the public or facing firm action from the authorities. ‘Secondly, because social media was already in an uproar, you could be caught by residents and killed on the street, or thirdly, caught by the police and shot. You choose which one you want. He thought about it for a long time until finally, yesterday, he said, “I’ll follow you, sir, and surrender,”’ Dadang continued.

After weighing the options, Taufik ultimately expressed his desire to turn himself in. Upon hearing this decision, Dadang immediately contacted Hendi, a member of the West Java Regional Police, to coordinate the surrender and arrest process. ‘So, he decided to surrender, and I called the authorities. I happened to call Mr Hendi at the police, and I coordinated. However, we had to strategise to ensure he truly surrendered because he kept changing his phone number every time he called. I called Mr Hendi and said, “If he plans to come to my house, be ready to come over,”’ Dadang said.