Jakarta. The Finance Ministry has officially removed Rafael Alun Trisambodo, an extremely rich tax official and father of an assault suspect, from his position pending the outcome of the internal probe on his questionable wealth.

“I have requested the removal of RAT from his duties and position starting today, so the ministry can probe him,” Finance Minister Sri Mulyani told a press briefing on Friday, referring to Rafael by his initials.  

Sri said the ministry’s inspectorate general had launched a probe to look into Rafael’s wealth. His removal also referred to the 2021 government regulation on civil servant discipline. 

According to the regulation, any civil servant suspected of discipline violations shall be suspended for the sake of the investigation. So by this, Rafael’s status as a civil servant remains unchanged. 

“RAT is still a civil servant, meaning that he is bound to all civil servants’ code of ethics, discipline, and administrative rules. His removal is to make the probe easier,” Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara said.

Rafael was a section head at the South Jakarta II branch of the ministry’s tax directorate general. 

Over the past few days, Rafael has been making headlines after his son, Mario Dandy Satrio, beat a seventeen-year-old boy into a coma. The victim, David, is the son of a high-ranking member of the Muslim youth organization GP Ansor. 

David to this day is still receiving intensive care.

The assault sparked a public outcry, not just due to the severity of the violence, but also because of the lavish lifestyle, including the costly Rubicon Jeep SUV, that the twenty-year-old Mario flaunted on social media. Rafael last year reported to the Anti-Graft Commission (KPK) that he owned Rp 56.1 billion ($3.6 million) in wealth. However, Rafael did not include the Rubicon in the wealth report.

The police have recently named Mario and his friend, who goes by the initial S, as assault suspects. Agnes, Mario’s girlfriend who formerly dated David, reportedly recorded the assault on her phone. 

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