Jak TV News Director Suspended Over Obstruction of Justice in Corruption Cases

April 24, 2025 | 01:31 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta's media company Jak TV has suspended its News Director, Tian Bahtiar, after he was named a suspect by the Attorney General’s Office in a case involving obstruction of justice related to several corruption cases.

These include the acquittal verdict in the crude palm oil (CPO) corruption scandal, as well as separate cases involving tin mining and sugar importation.

Jak TV has declined to comment on the legal process currently underway.

“In order to respect the ongoing investigation, we are not in a position to comment further at this time,” said Sony Soemarsono, the company’s Operational Director, when contacted via text message on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.

Instead, Sony provided an official written statement published on Jak TV’s website. The statement confirmed that Tian Bahtiar had been relieved of his duties as News Director.

The suspension was intended to allow Tian to focus on the legal proceedings and to ensure that the company’s operations and services continue to run smoothly and professionally.

AGO Names Three Suspects for Obstruction

Earlier, investigators at the Attorney General’s Office named three individuals as suspects for allegedly interfering with the legal process in the corruption cases. They are Tian Bahtiar, lawyer Marcella Santoso, and Junaedi Saibih.

According to Harli Siregar, Head of the AGO’s Legal Information Center, Tian was named a suspect due to personal misconduct.

He stated that Tian misused his position at Jak TV for personal gain.

“He received payments under his own name and not as an official representative of Jak TV, since there was no formal contract with the company,” Harli explained during a press briefing at the AGO office in South Jakarta on Tuesday, April 22.

Tian allegedly worked with Marcella and Junaedi to coordinate negative media coverage of corruption cases being handled by the AGO.

Alleged Campaign to Undermine Investigations

Abdul Qohar, Director of Investigations at the AGO’s Special Crimes Division, said that Tian’s case stemmed from the investigation into a bribery scheme linked to the acquittal in the CPO corruption case. Marcella had already been named a suspect in the same case.

“Investigators found sufficient evidence to name all three individuals as suspects,” Abdul said at the AGO office in South Jakarta.

He revealed that the three suspects had conspired to prevent or obstruct the investigation, prosecution, and trial processes related to the three major corruption cases.

Investigators found that Marcella asked Junaedi to create damaging narratives about the AGO. These narratives were then shared with Tian, who was responsible for spreading them.

Additionally, Marcella and Junaedi are accused of funding demonstrations and seminars as part of an effort to disrupt the legal process.

“Their aim was to shape public opinion against the AGO’s work, creating the impression that the investigations were flawed, and to distract or pressure the investigators in hopes of weakening the legal cases,” Abdul said.

Hammam Izzuddin contributed to the writing of this article.

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