DENPASAR, BALINEWS – Former Bali Regional Office of the National Land Agency (BPN) chief I Made Daging, through his legal team, is seeking to file a counter-report against I Made Tarip over alleged document forgery in a land certificate dispute in the Balangan Beach area of Jimbaran, Badung.
However, Daging's lawyers claim their efforts have been obstructed as they attempted to bring their client, who is currently in detention, to the Bali Police General Crimes Directorate (Ditreskrimum) to file the report.
Daging's lawyer, I Made Ariel Suardana, said the legal team became involved in a nearly two-hour dispute with investigators from the Bali Police Special Crimes Directorate (Ditreskrimsus) over the proposed report.
Ariel said the legal team had submitted a request on September 21, 2026, seeking permission for Daging to report the alleged criminal offense directly. However, as of Monday, October 5, 2026, they said they had not received the response they expected.
“The substance of the matter is that investigators, acting on the orders of the Director of the Bali Police Special Crimes Directorate, prohibited Mr. Daging from directly reporting the criminal offense he allegedly experienced,” Ariel said at the Bali Police Integrated Police Service Center (SPKT) on Monday.
According to Ariel, filing a police report is a right guaranteed to every citizen under criminal procedural law and police regulations. He therefore questioned why Daging was not allowed to personally submit the report.
Ariel said investigators told the legal team that they were merely carrying out orders from their superiors.
“For nearly two hours, there was no argument or explanation. They simply said they were carrying out their superior's instructions,” he said.
Lawyers Cite Different Procedures Within Bali Police
Ariel also pointed to what he described as differences between the procedures applied by the General Crimes Directorate and the Special Crimes Directorate in handling the proposed report.
He said the legal team had previously been informed that the report had to be filed directly by the alleged victim. On another occasion, however, investigators from the Special Crimes Directorate allegedly said the report could be filed through the lawyers, although they could not guarantee that it would be accepted.
“When we asked the General Crimes Directorate, they said it was because of an order from their superiors. From all of this, it appears that the Special Crimes Directorate and the General Crimes Directorate at the Bali Police are not speaking with one voice regarding the constitutional rights of citizens,” Ariel said.
Despite the dispute, Daging's legal team said it would continue attempting to file the report through the lawyers.
Ariel also said the team was considering reporting the officials involved if the attempt was rejected again.
“We have decided that we will report the Director of the Bali Police Special Crimes Directorate for the alleged legal violations,” he said.
Meanwhile, another member of Daging's legal team, Gede Pasek Suardika, stressed that they had come to the Bali Police primarily to file a report against Tarip, rather than to challenge the investigators.
Pasek said the legal team was relying on Indonesia's Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) and National Police regulations concerning the rights of detainees.
“We are relying on the Criminal Procedure Code and National Police regulations. They clearly stipulate that detainees' rights must be respected, including their right to file a report,” Pasek said.
He described the process as a “ping-pong” situation because of the different procedures the legal team said it encountered while attempting to submit the report.
Pasek expressed hope that the new leadership at the Bali Police would improve the institution's public service and procedures for receiving reports.
“Let it be cleaned up and let the police regain their dignity as protectors and public servants,” he said.
Regarding the possibility of reporting investigators, Pasek said the legal team would first monitor the outcome of its attempt to file the report against Tarip.
If the report was rejected again, he said they would consider legal action against those they believed had obstructed the reporting process.
“If we are not accepted here, then the investigators who prevent us from filing the report could be considered to have committed obstruction of justice,” Pasek said.
He said such action could be pursued through the Police Professional and Security Division (Propam) or through criminal proceedings if there were sufficient legal grounds and the elements of an offense were met.
Daging's 20-Day Detention Period Ends
Daging was previously detained for 20 days at the Bali Police detention facility after being questioned as a suspect by Ditreskrimsus on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
Bali Police spokesperson Commissioner Ariasandy said the detention was carried out after investigators obtained sufficient evidence and determined that the formal, material, subjective and objective requirements for detention had been met.
“Based on sufficient evidence and the fulfillment of the formal, material, subjective and objective requirements, suspect I MD (Made Daging) was detained for 20 days at the Bali Police detention facility,” Ariasandy said in a statement on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
The 20-day detention period expired on Monday, October 5, 2026. Daging remained at the Bali Police Directorate of Detention, Custody and Evidence (Tahti), according to his legal team.
As of publication, the allegations that Daging had been obstructed from filing the report remained claims made by his legal team. No response had been obtained from the Bali Police Special Crimes Directorate or I Made Tarip regarding the allegations.
