Police Have Not Named Suspects in Fortification Rice Case, What’s the Reason?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Director of Special Economic Crimes (Dirtipideksus) at the National Police's Criminal Investigation Unit, Kombes Suhasto, stated that investigators have yet to name a suspect in the case of fortification rice, which is alleged to have nutritional content that does not match the claims on its packaging.

"As for the determination of suspects, not yet, not yet," Suhasto clarified at a press conference on Wednesday (21/10/2026).

Suhasto explained the reasons for the absence of suspects in this case. Investigators are still delving into the matter. The handling of this case only started about three days prior to its public disclosure.

"Because this is still in process, just about three days ago. However, this is due to a shortage of several rice products," he added.

Nonetheless, Suhasto mentioned that the evidence collected by investigators, including expert testimony, is deemed sufficient to support the determination of a suspect.

"Then how long will the investigation take? If we consider that there are two pieces of evidence in this police report, God willing, this will be addressed soon, as several experts have already supported everything," Suhasto stated.

"Other pieces of evidence also already support this; in the coming days, we will issue summons for suspects," he revealed.

The police have interrogated two officials from the producing company

Suhasto explained that investigators have interrogated two officials from PT DTA, namely the director and the operational director of the company producing the five brands of fortification rice.

"We had previously mentioned that during the briefings earlier, the individuals from PT DTA who have been interrogated include the Operational Director and the Director. The Director and the Head of Operations from PT DTA," he clarified.

Additionally, investigators will separate police reports (LP) based on differences in location and timing of incidents, permits, and laboratory examination results.

"So we will create individual reports with three separate police reports. The subsequent reports will differ based on the assessments mentioned earlier. They won't only be based on the usage but on the permits and other aspects. The laboratory results will also definitely vary," he said.

For their actions, the perpetrators will be charged with consumer protection crimes as stipulated in Article 62 paragraph (1) in conjunction with Article 8 paragraph (1) letters a, d, e, and f of Law Number 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or a fine of up to IDR 2 billion.

The nutritional content of the fortification rice is suspected to not align with claims made on the packaging.

Director of Special Economic Crimes at the Indonesian National Police Kombes Suhasto said that laboratory testing of samples from five brands of fortification rice indicates a discrepancy in quality and nutritional content compared to the information on the packaging.

"Hence, samples from the five brands were taken by personnel from the National Food Agency (Bapanas) who are certified, and laboratory tests indicated that the quality and nutritional content of all five brands did not match the label on the packaging," Suhasto said.

The five brands in question are Idola Hijau Fortifikasi, Idola Merah Fortifikasi, Raja Lele, Cantik Manis, and Wijaya Kusuma.

In light of these findings, the National Food Agency reported the case to the Criminal Investigation Unit for legal processing. Investigators then elevated the status of the case from inquiry to investigation after discovering at least two pieces of evidence.

"Investigators from the Criminal Investigation Unit have interviewed 12 witnesses, including the complainant from Bapanas; also, the Director and Head of Production from PT DTA," he elaborated.