Indonesian Police Face Ethics Hearings Over Alleged Extortion at Music Festival [Video]

Indonesian Police Face Ethics Hearings Over alleged Extortion at Gaming Festival

Jakarta, Indonesia – Eighteen Indonesian police officers are facing ethics hearings next week following allegations they extorted money from attendees of the Indonesia Gaming Festival (IGF) earlier this month.

National Police internal affairs chief Insp. Gen. Abdul Karim announced the hearings at a press briefing on Tuesday. He confirmed that the 18 officers, from various precincts and sub-precincts in Central Jakarta and the Jakarta metropolitan Police, have been detained.

Karim declined to release the officers’ identities but stated that the investigation by the internal affairs division led to the decision to hold the ethics hearings. Authorities also confiscated Rp 2.5 billion ($154,197) in cash.

The announcement follows a wave of viral complaints on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Users alleged that certain police officers extorted money from festivalgoers by forcing them to take drug tests and threatening criminal …