DENPASAR, BALINEWS – I Made Daging, a former head of the Bali Regional Office of the National Land Agency (BPN), has once again challenged investigators from the Bali Regional Police (Polda Bali) in a third pretrial hearing at the Denpasar District Court on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. His legal team is challenging the termination of an investigation and the revocation of his suspect status, arguing that the handling of the case has created legal uncertainty.
Made Daging’s lawyers have questioned the issuance of a new police report after the previous investigation was terminated on August 6, 2026. They argue that the new report, which concerns alleged document forgery, is based on material originating from an earlier report involving alleged abuse of authority.
During the hearing, I Made Ariel Suardana, a member of Made Daging’s legal team, explained that the case originated from a police report filed on March 26, 2025, which was subsequently elevated to the investigation stage on January 2, 2026.
In the earlier case, Made Daging was named a suspect under Article 421 concerning abuse of authority. His suspect designation was previously challenged through a pretrial proceeding registered under case number 1/Pid.Pra/2026. According to Ariel, the judge ruled at the time that the Bali Police’s designation of Made Daging as a suspect was lawful.
However, following that ruling, investigators terminated the case on August 6, 2026. Ariel said the termination was based on arguments that the criminal provision used was no longer applicable and that the case had become time-barred.
“After they won, we wanted to challenge them to take the case to court if they were confident that the article was valid and could be applied in court. But suddenly, on August 6, 2026, they terminated the case instead,” Ariel said at the Denpasar District Court on Tuesday.
Ariel said the central issue in the latest pretrial challenge was the emergence of a new police report involving Articles 391 and 392 concerning alleged document forgery. According to him, the material underlying the new report is connected to the earlier report that formed the basis of the investigation into alleged abuse of authority.
He questioned why the alleged document forgery had not been included in the earlier investigation if the material was related to the same underlying matter.
“After terminating the case, they issued a new report based on the same material as the original report,” Ariel said.
He argued that the circumstances indicated possible shortcomings in the handling of the initial police report and could disadvantage his client. Ariel also invoked the legal principle of ne bis in idem in his arguments concerning the potential repetition of legal proceedings over the same matter.
Through the third pretrial challenge, Made Daging’s legal team is asking the single judge hearing the case to declare the termination of the investigation and the revocation of his suspect status unlawful. The team is also seeking judicial scrutiny of the legal basis for the investigators’ actions and the consistency of their handling of the case.
Ariel further argued that the series of legal proceedings had left his client facing legal uncertainty. He alleged that certain individuals had taken actions detrimental to Made Daging. These remain allegations made by the legal team and have yet to be established through the judicial process.
Meanwhile, the Bali Police Legal Division, coordinated by AKBP I Nyoman Gatra, head of the legal assistance subsection within the division, said Tuesday’s hearing began with the reading of the applicant’s petition and an administrative examination of the powers of attorney and official assignment documents submitted by the parties.
Gatra said Made Daging’s legal team had presented six arguments in its pretrial petition. One of the issues raised concerned the termination of the investigation, which the applicant alleged had been carried out without a case review meeting.
In response, Gatra said the police legal team would present its formal response at the next hearing. He explained that the team had already prepared its arguments but would follow the schedule set by the judge.
“We were actually ready to present our response today, but since the judge has scheduled it for tomorrow, we will submit it tomorrow,” Gatra said.
The third pretrial proceeding marks the latest development in the legal dispute between Made Daging and Bali Police investigators. The next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, October 28, 2026, with the court set to hear the respondent’s response to the arguments raised by Made Daging’s legal team.
