Jakarta. Former Jakarta Police chief Sofjan Jacoeb was scheduled to be questioned by police investigators on Monday as a suspect in a treason allegation related to rioting in the capital last month, but failed to turn up at the interrogation session, an official said.

Sofjan was the Jakarta Police chief from May to December 2001.

Investigators declared Sofjan a suspect on a treason charge on May 29 after hearing witness testimonies and crosschecking information, Jakarta Police spokesman Chief Cmr. Argo Yuwono said.

The case has been handed over from the National Police's Criminal Investigation Unit, he said.

Investigators also discovered a video footage in which Sofjan made statements which led him to be charged with treason.

"I haven't seen the video. Obviously, the investigators have better knowledge about it. [Sofjan] was declared a suspect, which means all the [legal] requirements were met [to charge him]," Argo said in Jakarta on Monday.

Sofjan is one of 300 former military and police generals who belong to a group who calls themselves "Gerram," an acronym for Volunteers for Justice and Prosperity for the People. 

The name is similar to the Indonesian word for "angry" (geram). The group supported Prabowo Subianto in this year's presidential race.

Prabowo's supporters protested President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's re-election win in Jakarta on May 21 and 22. The protests turned violent and rioting gripped some parts of Central Jakarta for two days. 

Police have arrested more than 400 suspected rioters and several political and military figures, including former generals Kivlan Zen and Sunarko, who have been linked to a treason attempt and a plot to assassinate four high-ranking officials in Jokowi's government.

"Mr. Sofjan Jacoeb was scheduled to be questioned today, but because he is sick, we have asked the investigators to reschedule the session," Sofjan's lawyer Ahmad Yani said.

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