Indonesian police have named a fourth senior officer as a suspect in the alleged wiretapping of President Prabowo Subianto, as the scandal deepens a rift between the president and his predecessor, Joko Widodo.

Fourth suspect identified

At a press conference late on Thursday, police named a senior law enforcement official with the initials SU as the new suspect. Local media later identified him as Slamet Uliandi. He served as monitoring chief at Indonesia's Criminal Investigation Agency between 2010 and 2019, and later headed the agency's information and technology unit from 2021 to 2026.

Investigators allege that Uliandi gave the go-ahead for the wiretapping, cybercrime unit director Suhermanto told the press conference. "When the other two suspects were about to wiretap, they got approval from SU. They also asked his approval before deleting interception records," Suhermanto said. He added that Uliandi had not yet been detained because of a health condition.

Three senior police officers had already been arrested on Tuesday, including the former national police chief and Prabowo's chief of staff, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, a Widodo loyalist. Police are still investigating the motive and have questioned 13 police officers and five criminal and IT experts. The national police chief has also formed a special team to investigate the case.

Troops deployed as Jakarta stays calm

Jakarta remained calm on Thursday and Friday despite the deployment of thousands of troops after the revelations. Military tents and buses were seen in the capital, as well as a small number of soldiers.

The case has added to pressure on Prabowo amid public discontent over his costly populist policies and weakening investor confidence in Indonesia's 1.5 trillion dollar economy. Lawmakers are also considering a probe into the eligibility of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Widodo's son.