Police: Pandji Pragiwaksono Has Received Customary Sanction, Case to Be Settled via Restorative Justice

The Cyber Crime Directorate of the Indonesian National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim Polri) has provided an update on the investigation into the alleged insult of Toraja customary practices linked to content by comedian Pandji Pragiwaksono. The case is to be settled through restorative justice.

Head of Sub-Directorate I of the Cyber Crime Directorate at Bareskrim Polri, Senior Commissioner Deddy Supriadi, assessed that the matter has in principle been resolved at the customary community level. This follows Pandji’s decision to undergo a customary tribunal and pay a fine in accordance with the provisions of the local community.

“He has already received a customary sanction, hasn’t he? That means it is settled,” Deddy Supriadi told journalists on Thursday (20/8/2026).

Asked again about the continuation of the police report filed against Pandji, Deddy explained that investigators would prioritise the restorative justice mechanism.

“We will carry out a restorative justice process because the customary sanction has already taken precedence,” he said.

The case began when Pandji Pragiwaksono was reported by the Toraja Youth Alliance to Bareskrim Polri. Pandji was deemed to have insulted Toraja customs through stand-up comedy material that touched on the high cost of funeral ceremonies among the Toraja people.

The material in question was part of Pandji’s performance in 2013. However, the video resurfaced and triggered a strong reaction from the Toraja community.

Pandji is known to have complied with summonses from investigators at the Cyber Crime Directorate of Bareskrim Polri on several occasions to provide clarification.

As a form of moral and customary accountability, Pandji has undergone a customary tribunal. In its ruling, Pandji was sentenced to a fine of one pig and five chickens.

Previously, the then-Director of Cyber Crime at Bareskrim Polri, Brigadier General Himawan Bayu Aji, stated that his office was also considering the application of living law, or law that lives in society, in handling this case.

“All that has been done constitutes concrete steps in accordance with living law. Then, alongside national law, this is what we are doing in the investigation simultaneously,” Himawan told journalists on Thursday (26/2).