Transcript of Press Conference with Local Media on Extradition Request Received from Indonesia on Paulus Tannos

Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam (Minister): We want to talk about an extradition matter. On 19 December 2024, Singapore received a request from Indonesia to arrest Paulus Tannos. His Chinese name is Tjhin Thian Po. Tannos is wanted by Indonesia for his involvement in an alleged corruption matter, relating to what is known as the “e-KTP Project”.

Singapore took the request from Indonesia very seriously. This is the first case under the Extradition Treaty between Singapore and Indonesia. Some of you may be aware that the Treaty entered into force in March 2024.

The request came in on 19 December 2024. Our agencies are required to assess whether the request comes within the framework of the Extradition Treaty. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) did that together with the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC). They took the view that the request did fall within the Treaty. So, on 17 January 2025, roughly within a month of the request, CPIB applied to the Courts for a warrant of arrest to be issued. The Courts issued the warrant on the same day, and Tannos was arrested on the same day as well. Everything took place on 17 January 2025 -- CPIB applied to the Courts for the arrest order to be issued on 17 January, the Courts issued the order on 17 January, and Tannos was arrested on 17 January.

After that, there is a series of procedures. The first step after the arrest order was issued, was for me to be notified as Minister for Law, to see whether there was any reason to cancel the order. I looked at it based on AGC’s advice., I said no, we are not cancelling the order. So Tannos, having been arrested, has been in remand without bail.

He has produced a diplomatic passport issued by Guinea Bissau. His counsel has brought that passport to the attention of the Court. The Singapore Government, as advised by AGC, considered that even though he had produced this diplomatic passport, it does not affect the position, and he has no diplomatic immunity that will preclude the arrest or the extradition. That is the Government’s position. Tannos’s counsel, of course, are entitled to take it up in Court and they had said they would follow up – but so far they have not done so.

Now, these are the preliminary procedures. Next comes the formal extradition request, that has to come with proper evidence. On 24 February 2025, about two weeks ago, we received Indonesia’s formal request for extradition, together with all the documents. AGC is currently reviewing the request and all the documents, together with other agencies, including CPIB. Once all the requirements for extradition are met, then the process will be placed before the Court, and the process will start for a formal Extradition Order.

Now, how long would this take? If Tannos doesn’t contest his extradition, he can be extradited in six months, maybe even less. But he has told the Court that he will not consent to the extradition, and that he will in fact be contesting the extradition. So, the process will obviously take longer. Both sides will have to put their submissions in. The Court will have to find a suitable date to hear the submissions. The Court will also take some time to make its order. Tannos has a team of lawyers. He is also entitled to apply for bail. He will also, of course, ask for time to prepare his case, and if the Court does order the extradition, he is entitled to appeal.

You can look at other countries, how long it takes if a party contests extradition orders. Hearings can vary from case to case. A full legal process, if it is contested at every step of the way and is

complicated, can even take two years or more. It all depends on the documents that we get, what sort of arguments Tannos puts up, and how the Court approaches it.

From the Singapore Government’s perspective, we will do everything we can to expedite. The matter is in the Courts. We cannot just put him on a plane and send him back. There are formal processes.

When someone comes into Singapore say, on false pretext or on a false passport, then those matters can be dealt with differently because their entry into Singapore was on the basis of a certain set of representations and documents. If that is not valid, they can cancel his stay and ask him to go back to his country of origin, because he should not have come in the first place. But here, it’s different. He has got to go through the formal process because he has a valid passport, and he is validly in Singapore and he is accused of something. We need to take it through to get an order.

AGC is working very hard on this. We take this very seriously, and AGC will try and expedite the whole process. Thank you.

The Straits Times (ST): How long has Tannos been in Singapore, and why was he even let in, in the first place?

Minister: I don’t know how long he’s been here. But, absent any particular criminality within Singapore, and our knowledge that he is undesirable -- if he has got a valid passport, we generally do not prevent people from coming into Singapore.

CNA Digital: Has the point that it could take months, if not years, been communicated to the Indonesian counterparts?

Minister: That is for AGC to discuss with their counterparts. They are working closely. We need to get the proper documentation in place to expedite, and AGC is in constant communication with the Indonesians. We are in no position to assess. It depends on what Mr Tannos and his lawyers say. It depends on what the Courts want. It depends on when dates are available.

CNA Digital: What has the Indonesian response and perspective been?

Minister: I think we are focusing on making the application in Court, and they understand the process.

ST: So there have been a lot of reports, especially from the Indonesian side -- media reports, and there are a lot of allegations going around, whether Singapore is playing ball. How are we responding to all these allegations?

Minister: I think we set out the facts, and the timeline sets out the facts. 19 December – provisional arrest request [received]; 17 January – our agencies moved, arrested him and he is placed in remand. After that, it was for Indonesia to give us the documents. We have worked with them to tell them what documents we would need. The extradition request was 24 February, two weeks ago, and we are assessing before we go to Court. So, I think it’s good to put these facts up.

ST: There was also mention about him having some sort of medical condition. Are you able to shed more light on that?

Minister: I am not aware. These are matters that he [Tannos] will have to put out to the Courts. But I want to be careful about how much we say about what might happen in Court. If you think along the question, there is no reason why medical conditions should prevent a person from being moved to another country, unless you are saying that there are no proper medical facilities there. But these are matters for the Court to look at.

CNA: Can I check if there are any communications from Singapore side with Guinea-Bissau?

Minister: We considered, as I said, that the passport does not give him any diplomatic immunity. So it does not require us to communicate with Guinea-Bissau.

Mothership: Do you have any comments on what’s it like working with the Indonesian government on this, especially since this is the first case?

Deputy Attorney-General Lionel Yee: Our experience so far has been that we are working well with our Indonesian counterparts, for over a couple of years, not just in the context of this case of extradition, but also for cases of mutual legal assistance.

Minister: Thank you.

Last updated on 10 March 2025