Richard Lee Detained After Police Questioning
Richard Lee was detained after finishing questioning as a suspect in a case of alleged violations in the health and consumer protection sectors on Friday, March 6. The police said Richard underwent further questioning as a suspect from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Western Indonesian Time (WIB), grilled with 29 questions by investigators.
“The suspect DRL has been detained at 9:50 pm at the Metro Jaya Regional Police detention facility,” said Public Relations Head of the Metro Jaya Police, Kombes Budi Hermanto, to reporters on Friday.
Budi explained that before his detention, Richard underwent a health check by the Polda Metro Jaya Medical and Health Directorate (Biddokes). The examination covered checks of blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and body temperature, all of which were normal and allowed him to carry out normal activities.
“Before detention is conducted, the suspect’s personal belongings not related to the evidentiary process have been placed with his legal counsel,” Budi said.
This case involving Richard originated from a report filed by Samira Farahnaz, also known as the detective doctor (doktif), on 2 December 2024 under case number LP/B/7317/XII/2024/SPKT Polda Metro Jaya.
From the results of the investigation, the police subsequently named Richard as a suspect in a case of alleged violations in the health and consumer protection sectors. He has held the status of suspect since 15 December 2025.
In this matter, Richard is charged under Article 435 in conjunction with Article 138(2) of Law No. 17 of 2023 on Health with a penalty of up to 12 years in prison and/or a fine of up to Rp5 billion.
Additionally, Richard is charged under Article 62(1) in conjunction with Article 8(1) and/or Article 9(1) of Law No. 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection with a penalty of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to Rp2 billion.
Following the designation as a suspect, Richard filed a pre-trial suit with the South Jakarta District Court. However, the suit was rejected.
The Metro Jaya Police were also known to have barred Richard Lee from travelling abroad. The travel ban letter against Richard was issued on 10 February.
“The preventive or cekal measure, as we call it, has been issued from 10 February 2026 to 1 March 2026 for the next 20 days,” Budi said at the Metro Jaya Police, on Wednesday (11 Feb).
(dis/pta)