Pandji Questioned on 17 Matters Regarding Toraja Customary Court Proceedings
Comedian Pandji Pragiwaksono stated that he was questioned on 17 matters by investigators from the Cybercrime Directorate of the Indonesian National Police’s Criminal Investigation Division regarding a case of alleged insult to Toraja custom.
He was questioned concerning customary court proceedings in Toraja. “Seventeen, if I’m not mistaken. Seventeen questions. Relating to the customary court in Toraja,” Pandji told reporters outside the Criminal Investigation Division building on Monday, 9 March.
Pandji also stated that he was asked to provide explanations about the customary court process that he had previously undergone with representatives of the Toraja indigenous community. “What was discussed was the court process itself, what happened, what was agreed upon,” he explained.
“I was asked to confirm who was involved. Then I asked the investigator to verify directly with the Toraja community representatives there because I did not want to get wrong the names, positions, and particularly the locations,” he added.
Regarding any subsequent summons, Pandji said he had no further information. “There is no information on that as far as I or we understand. I was called today simply for this purpose. So it seems there may not be anything more,” he said.
Earlier, in the Toraja customary court proceedings, Pandji was handed a customary sanction requiring him to apologise to the ancestors and pay one pig and five chickens. The sanction was imposed during customary court proceedings at Tongkonan Layuk Kaero, Sangalla, Tana Toraja, on Tuesday, 10 February.
Pandji accepted the decision gracefully and apologised to the Toraja community. He pledged to improve himself going forward and would not repeat similar mistakes in the future.
A report against Pandji was filed by the Toraja Youth Alliance Police regarding allegations of insult and/or hate speech containing SARA (ethnic, religious, racial, and inter-group) elements against the Toraja community.
The Director of the Cybercrime Division of the Criminal Investigation Division Brigadier General Himawan Bayu Aji stated that the results of the Toraja customary court proceedings that Pandji had undergone would be considered in line with the application of living law (laws governing the community) with national criminal law.
For this reason, Himawan said that the customary justice process that Pandji had already completed would be taken into consideration in case deliberations as to whether he could be named a suspect or not.