Broadcaster TVOne said on Friday it would file a defamation lawsuit against a man who claimed the station paid him to pose as a case broker for an interview.
In a news conference broadcast live, Alfito Deanova, TVOne’s current affairs manager, said they would take legal action “because this concerns our reputation and credibility. We never invite people and ask them to confess something untrue.”
Andris Ronaldi, also known as Andis, who was arrested on Wednesday, has told the National Police he was given Rp 1.5 million ($165) by TV anchor Indy Rahmawati to pretend to be a former case broker at the National Police on her show.
In a news conference earlier on Friday, he said he felt he had been set up and victimized by Indy and Alfito. “Indri contacted me to be her source on the TV show ‘Apa Kabar Indonesia,’ which aired on March 24. She said she would ask me about being a migrant worker,” he said.
He said that even though he was a freelance infotainment media worker and knew nothing about being a migrant worker, “I said yes and called my colleague who has information on migrant worker issues.”
But Andis said that when he arrived at the station on the morning of March 24, Indy had changed the topic to case brokers.
He said Indy gave him a jacket and a mask and told him to pretend to be case broker.
“I didn’t have any idea about the topic but Indy then gave me a scenario in a question-and-answer format. Soon after the show was aired live,” he claimed.
Andis said he complained to Indy during a break. “But she urged me to confess I knew there was a case broker room beside the National Police chief’s office. At first I said, ‘I don’t know,’ but Indy insisted that I say, ‘Yes, I know about it.’ ”
Andis has apologized to the National Police for the incident. “After I surrendered, the police investigators invited me to meet the National Police chief. He showed me that there is no case broker room beside his room,” he said.
He said that after the program he fled to Bali to avoid the police and Indri had kept in contact via BlackBerry messenger. His BlackBerry, which has been seized by the police, shows a message from a contact named Indy saying: “If necessary you must change your BlackBerry and I will not tell the police your identity.”
At the TVOne news conference, Totok Suryanto, the station’s general manager for news and sports, said Andis had previously been on other shows speaking as a source on case brokers.
“He showed us some proof that he was a case broker and after several clarifications we believed him and used him on some shows,” Totok said.
TVOne said it would report Andis for making false statements. “We are going to see the Press Council on Monday and will bring the proof Andis claimed showed he was a case broker,” Totok said. The station also will report Andis for allegedly defaming Indy.
Indy denied she had prepared a list of questions and answers for Andis.
“What we did was a preinterview on the previous day, and what he said in that preinterview and during the talk show was similar,” she said. “He wasn’t reading from a piece of paper. In fact, such things never happen on any talk show,” she said.
Indy also said Andis had asked for an extra fee for the show. “Previously he was paid Rp 1 million, but for the morning show he asked us to raise the amount.”
A police source told the order to investigate the case came from National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri himself. “He is very angry and was insulted when Andis said he had a case broker room,” the source said.
“But we are still waiting for further orders from our chief because we know that Karni Ilyas, who is TVOne’s managing editor, is also a National Police Commission member. We have to be careful in reviewing this case.”
A National Police spokesman, Chief Comr. Zulkarnaen, said they were still waiting for confirmation from the Press Council on whether the case should be categorized as a “press violation” or “pure criminal action.”
He said the Broadcasting Law stated that anyone who broadcast false information faced a five-year jail sentence and a fine of up to Rp 10 billion. “I hope this case is the first and the last and that other reporters will learn from it,” Zulkarnaen said.
Asked if Indy would be named a suspect, he said: “We will wait for the recommendation from the Press Council and Indonesian Broadcasting Commission.”
In a news conference broadcast live, Alfito Deanova, TVOne’s current affairs manager, said they would take legal action “because this concerns our reputation and credibility. We never invite people and ask them to confess something untrue.”
Andris Ronaldi, also known as Andis, who was arrested on Wednesday, has told the National Police he was given Rp 1.5 million ($165) by TV anchor Indy Rahmawati to pretend to be a former case broker at the National Police on her show.
In a news conference earlier on Friday, he said he felt he had been set up and victimized by Indy and Alfito. “Indri contacted me to be her source on the TV show ‘Apa Kabar Indonesia,’ which aired on March 24. She said she would ask me about being a migrant worker,” he said.
He said that even though he was a freelance infotainment media worker and knew nothing about being a migrant worker, “I said yes and called my colleague who has information on migrant worker issues.”
But Andis said that when he arrived at the station on the morning of March 24, Indy had changed the topic to case brokers.
He said Indy gave him a jacket and a mask and told him to pretend to be case broker.
“I didn’t have any idea about the topic but Indy then gave me a scenario in a question-and-answer format. Soon after the show was aired live,” he claimed.
Andis said he complained to Indy during a break. “But she urged me to confess I knew there was a case broker room beside the National Police chief’s office. At first I said, ‘I don’t know,’ but Indy insisted that I say, ‘Yes, I know about it.’ ”
Andis has apologized to the National Police for the incident. “After I surrendered, the police investigators invited me to meet the National Police chief. He showed me that there is no case broker room beside his room,” he said.
He said that after the program he fled to Bali to avoid the police and Indri had kept in contact via BlackBerry messenger. His BlackBerry, which has been seized by the police, shows a message from a contact named Indy saying: “If necessary you must change your BlackBerry and I will not tell the police your identity.”
At the TVOne news conference, Totok Suryanto, the station’s general manager for news and sports, said Andis had previously been on other shows speaking as a source on case brokers.
“He showed us some proof that he was a case broker and after several clarifications we believed him and used him on some shows,” Totok said.
TVOne said it would report Andis for making false statements. “We are going to see the Press Council on Monday and will bring the proof Andis claimed showed he was a case broker,” Totok said. The station also will report Andis for allegedly defaming Indy.
Indy denied she had prepared a list of questions and answers for Andis.
“What we did was a preinterview on the previous day, and what he said in that preinterview and during the talk show was similar,” she said. “He wasn’t reading from a piece of paper. In fact, such things never happen on any talk show,” she said.
Indy also said Andis had asked for an extra fee for the show. “Previously he was paid Rp 1 million, but for the morning show he asked us to raise the amount.”
A police source told the order to investigate the case came from National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri himself. “He is very angry and was insulted when Andis said he had a case broker room,” the source said.
“But we are still waiting for further orders from our chief because we know that Karni Ilyas, who is TVOne’s managing editor, is also a National Police Commission member. We have to be careful in reviewing this case.”
A National Police spokesman, Chief Comr. Zulkarnaen, said they were still waiting for confirmation from the Press Council on whether the case should be categorized as a “press violation” or “pure criminal action.”
He said the Broadcasting Law stated that anyone who broadcast false information faced a five-year jail sentence and a fine of up to Rp 10 billion. “I hope this case is the first and the last and that other reporters will learn from it,” Zulkarnaen said.
Asked if Indy would be named a suspect, he said: “We will wait for the recommendation from the Press Council and Indonesian Broadcasting Commission.”
