Jakarta. A middle-ranking Jakarta police officer is under internal investigation for allegedly extorting two suspects involved in the April 2024 deaths of two teenage girls, demanding Rp 20 billion ($1.2 million) in exchange for dropping the case.

The victims, aged 16 and 17, were found dead in South Jakarta, reportedly from a drug overdose. Their identities have not been disclosed.

Adjunct Chief Commissioner Bintoro, who served as head of the Jakarta Police Criminal Investigation Unit at the time, is accused of extorting the two suspects, Arif Nugroho and Muhammad Bayu Hartanto. According to media reports, the suspects are the sons of the owner of the prominent clinic network Prodia.

Arif and Bayu were arrested by Jakarta Police in April 2024 on charges of paying the underage girls for sex and forcing them to consume drugs. The allegations against Bintoro include an attempt in May 2024 to terminate the criminal investigation by offering Rp 300 million to the victims’ families through an intermediary, urging them to withdraw their police complaint.

Later that month, the suspects reportedly complained that they were still being prosecuted despite allegedly paying Bintoro Rp 20 billion in cash and assets. These assets included a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a Ferrari.

The scandal gained public attention on January 6, 2025, when the suspects filed a civil lawsuit against Bintoro, demanding the return of their cash and assets.

On Sunday, Bintoro confirmed that he is being investigated by the Jakarta Police’s internal security division over the extortion allegations.

“I strongly deny the accusations. The investigation into the girls’ deaths was completed by my team and has already been handed over to the South Jakarta Prosecutors’ Office for trial,” Bintoro said.

“The investigation into my conduct began yesterday. I was interrogated for eight hours, and my cellphone was seized. I am currently at the Jakarta Police Internal Security Division,” he added, describing the allegations as “slanderous and absurd.”

Bintoro was reassigned from the Criminal Investigation Unit in August 2024 to a position in the special crime division.

Non-governmental organization Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) has urged National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo to ensure that the bribery scandal is thoroughly investigated. IPW emphasized that all officers involved should be held accountable, both through an ethical tribunal and the criminal justice system.

“This extortion case involving a middle-ranking officer has severely tarnished the reputation of the police and further eroded public trust in the National Police,” IPW Chairman Sugeng Teguh Santoso said in a statement.