Why Police Immediately Detained Richard Lee After Questioning

Jakarta’s Metro Jaya Police disclosed several reasons behind the detention of Richard Lee after he was questioned as a suspect in a case of alleged violations in the health sector and consumer protection. Richard was formally detained at the Metro Jaya Police Detention Centre on Friday evening, 6 March 2026, after completing further questioning as a suspect. Public Relations Head of Metro Jaya Police, Senior Commissioner Budi Hermanto, said Richard was detained because his actions were deemed to have obstructed the investigation. ‘The suspect did not attend an additional inspection on 3 March 2026 without providing a clear explanation. On that day the suspect was also known to have gone live on his TikTok account,’ Budi told reporters on Friday. Additionally, Budi said, Richard also twice failed to comply with mandatory reporting. He had previously only faced mandatory reporting after being named as a suspect. ‘The suspect also skipped mandatory reporting on Monday, 23 February 2026 and Thursday, 5 March 2026 without a clear reason,’ he added. With these considerations, investigators decided to commit Richard to the Metro Jaya detention centre to facilitate the investigation. ‘Next, based on the consideration that the suspect’s actions are seen as hindering the investigation,’ said Budi. The case originated from a report filed by Samira Farahnaz or ‘doktif’ doctor on 2 December 2024 with LP/B/7317/XII/2024/SPKT Polda Metro Jaya. Following investigations, police named Richard as a suspect in a case of alleged violations in health and consumer protection. He has held the status of suspect since 15 December 2025. In this case, Richard is charged 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. Additionally, 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 of the suspect, Richard filed a pretrial challenge at the South Jakarta District Court. However, the challenge was rejected. Polda Metro Jaya is also known to have prohibited Richard Lee from travelling abroad. The travel ban letter was issued on 10 February 2026. ‘Prevention and countermeasures, or cekal, has been issued from 10 February 2026 until 1 March 2026 for 20 days,’ Budi said at Polda Metro Jaya on Wednesday (11 February).