Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Iskandar Hasan admitted Tuesday that detectives had dropped an investigation into an alleged graft surrounding an omission of a sub-article from the 2009 Law on Health.

"The decision was due to an order from the Director of Transnational Security and Crimes at the Detective Body," Iskandar told the press.

He added police detectives had failed to find any criminal charges in the case. "This is not a sudden decision nor due to political interference. This has been through a long discussion," Iskandar said. He said it is possible for police detectives to reopen the case if new evidence is found.

The case was reported by a coalition of NGOs in March. Sub-article 2 of Article 113 of the law, stipulating that tobacco is among addictive substances, was suddenly missing when the law was endorsed

Activists alleged that the clause was struck off due to vested interests at the parliament to benefit cigarette companies. They also believed corruption was involved in the case.