Police Detain MC and Challenge Creator in Quran Recitation for Alcohol Case
Police have detained two of four suspects in a case of alleged criminal acts against religion and belief related to a Quran memorisation challenge that was exchanged for alcoholic beverages at The Sounds Project in Ancol, North Jakarta.
The two detained suspects are REK, who served as the MC, and AK, the creator of the challenge. Both have been held at the Polda Metro Jaya detention centre since Thursday (13/8).
“RES and AK were arrested on Wednesday, 12 August 2026, after the case was transferred from the North Jakarta Metropolitan Police. Both have been detained for 20 days at the Polda Metro Jaya detention centre starting today,” said Director of General Criminal Investigation at Polda Metro Jaya, Senior Commissioner Iman Imanuddin, in his statement on Thursday.
Iman said that legal proceedings against the two other suspects are still ongoing. However, police have not yet decided to detain the remaining two suspects.
The two other suspects are I, the creator of the challenge, and M, the person who appeared and recited Surah Ad-Dhuha through a loudspeaker.
“Legal proceedings against the two other suspects continue to be carried out according to procedure,” he said.
In this case, the suspects are charged under Article 300 and/or Article 301 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code as amended by Law Number 1 of 2026 concerning Criminal Adjustments.
Previously, a promotional event allegedly involving alcoholic beverages disguised as a Quran memorisation challenge at The Sounds Project music festival, held last weekend on Sunday (9/8) in North Jakarta, went viral on social media.
In the viral video, visitors recorded a moment at an alcohol product booth that held a challenge for visitors to memorise one of the surahs in the holy Quran, namely Ad-Dhuha, with the reward allegedly being a bottle of the promoted alcohol.
In a post on the official Instagram account of The Sounds Project as the organiser, the event management spoke out about the incident.
“We as the event organiser are also angry, disappointed, and condemn such behaviour. We have never, and will never, condone behaviour that uses religion as material for a challenge or product promotion in any form,” read the official statement quoted from The Sounds Project’s Instagram account.
“We emphasise that the incident was completely outside the direction, approval, and control of us as the event organiser,” it added.
Meanwhile, the MC at the Newport booth during The Sounds Project event has also publicly apologised. This was conveyed through the Threads social media account, aqueer_, owned by Revnaldo Ega.
“I, Ega, as the MC of the Newport booth on Sunday, 9 August 2026, apologise for the incident that occurred during the event,” he said.
“The incident was a spontaneous act by the audience and was not related to Newport. I acknowledge my negligence in controlling the situation and will make it a lesson to be more alert and responsible in the future,” he added.
Newport management also issued an apology over the uproar following the alcohol promotion case.
“In connection with the circulation of a video at the Newport booth during The Sounds Project music festival on Sunday (09/08), Newport extends its apologies to all Muslims, religious leaders, and the entire Indonesian public for the incident that caused discomfort, hurt feelings, and commotion,” said Newport Director Handoko Sasongko in his statement on Wednesday (11/8).
Handoko stated that the activity was not a programme, promotional concept, challenge, or directive created or planned by Newport. He claimed that the activity emerged spontaneously from visitors at the location.
“We regret the negligence in field supervision, which allowed actions inconsistent with the religious values, beliefs, culture, and customs upheld by society to occur,” he said.