Indonesian villagers shocked at Japanese fraud suspect's arrest

Arrested Japanese national Mitsuhiro Taniguchi (centre) is escorted by Indonesian officers prior to a press conference at an immigration office in Jakarta on June 8, 2022. - AFP

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): An Indonesian business partner of a Japanese Covid-19 subsidy fraud suspect said Thursday (June 9) he felt sorry and shocked over the man's arrest earlier this week.

The arrest of Mitsuhiro Taniguchi, who is suspected of swindling hundreds of millions of yen from a Japanese subsidy programme for small companies hit by the coronavirus pandemic, has destroyed the hopes of continuing fish farming in the village of Sri Dadi in Lampung Province, according to Masduki, his business partner.