Richard Lee Skipped Police Questioning, Prefers TikTok Live

The Metro Jaya Regional Police have revealed why Richard Lee dodged two summons in a case of alleged violations in the health and consumer protection sectors. Public Relations Head Kombes Budi Hermanto said Richard Lee did not attend an additional examination on Tuesday (3/3). He said Richard did not provide a reason for his absence to investigators; however, it was later found that he conducted a TikTok Live on the same day. He noted that Richard Lee admitted to investigators that he chose to go live on TikTok to promote products from CV Athena as part of his work. “The person conducted a TikTok Live on his own account for the purpose of promoting CV Athena products as part of his work,” he said in a written statement, Saturday (7/3). In addition to missing the examination, Budi said Richard Lee also twice failed to carry out the mandatory reporting as a suspect. Therefore, he said, investigators assessed that the individual had sought to impede the investigative process. “In essence, the person does not reflect a citizen who complies with and respects the law,” he added. Earlier, police detained Richard Lee after completing questioning as a suspect in a case of alleged violations in health and consumer protection on Friday (6/3). Budi explained that before detention, the suspect’s personal belongings not related to the evidentiary process were deposited with his legal counsel. The case involving Richard began with a report filed by Samira Farahnaz, or detective doctor (doktif), on 2 December 2024 under LP/B/7317/XII/2024/SPKT Polda Metro Jaya. From investigation results, police subsequently named Richard as a suspect in the alleged violations in health and consumer protection. He has held suspect status since 15 December 2025. In this matter, Richard faces charges under Article 435 in conjunction with Article 138(2) of Law Number 17 of 2023 on Health, with a penalty of up to 12 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to Rp5 billion. In addition, Richard is charged under Article 62(1) in conjunction with Article 8(1) and/or Article 9(1) of Law Number 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection, with a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to Rp2 billion. Following the designation as a suspect, Richard filed a pretrial suit with the South Jakarta District Court. However, the suit was rejected.