Jakarta, Aug. 22 -- Deputy Minister of Manpower Immanuel Ebenezer Gerungan has tendered an apology to President Prabowo Subianto after being named a suspect in an extortion case involving companies seeking to obtain occupational safety and health certificates.

"First of all, I would like to offer an apology to President Prabowo Subianto," he stated at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Headquarters in Jakarta on Friday.

The deputy minister also sought forgiveness from his family and the Indonesian people. However, he stressed that he had not been arrested in a KPK sting operation, contrary to widespread reports.

"It should be noted that I was not nabbed in a sting operation. Furthermore, the case I am implicated in is not one ...