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Amid questions over the Jakarta Police chief’s visit to arrested gangster John Kei, investigators assured on Wednesday that they had sufficient evidence to prove his link to the murder of former Sanex Steel Indonesia boss Tan Hari Tantono.

Jakarta Police crime unit director Toni Harmanto said investigators suspected the murder last month of Tan, also known as Ayung, was premeditated. “Preparations were made,” he said.

Toni said the first clue about the alleged involvement of John’s group in the murder was found in the recording of a hidden camera. “The CCTV footage is original and has not been edited,” he said.

He added that John and his group, as well as the victim, were all seen entering Central Jakarta’s Swiss-Belhotel on the day of the murder. The five suspects in the case admitted to bringing knives, indicating that they planned to hurt the victim, Toni said.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said the hotel room was booked by S.M., a member of John’s gang. “Officers are still chasing S.M.,” he said.

John, who has denied any involvement in the murder, was arrested following a shootout on Friday. He is being held at the Kramat Jati police hospital in East Jakarta where he is being treated for a gunshot wound.

Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Untung S. Rajab visited him in the hospital on Tuesday, an action he was forced to defend on Wednesday.

He said the visit was to verify a report on John’s condition and to check on A.F., another suspect.

“The police’s job is to fight crimes. We fight the action, not the people. I went there to check how he was doing. I checked his physical condition, where he got shot and whether it matched with the investigators’ report,” he said.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution also came to his defense, saying that as a provincial police chief, Untung had the right to engage with anyone in his jurisdiction.

“We want to keep everyone close, including our enemies. [Untung] has the right to monitor and engage every group in the city,” he said on Wednesday.

Untung’s visit, he said, would not hamper the National Police’s internal investigation into allegations of excessive force in John’s arrest, as previously claimed by John’s family.

Hundreds of people from eastern Indonesia also came to the National Police office on Wednesday to extend their support to the law enforcement officers.

“A human life should never be taken. That is God’s prerogative and the police took the correct action. We cannot accept what John Kei did. We from the eastern community never approved of what John Kei did,” said Daud Kei, a representative of a group known as Kei Island Youth (Amkei).

“We also don’t approve of the provincial police chief’s decision to visit John Kei. Who is he? He’s just a criminal,” said Daud, who was received by the National Police public relations division.

Rio Hercules, who took part in the rally, said that Indonesia was a country of law. “This is a country of law and we cannot kill people as we wish,” Rio said.

Additional reporting by Farouk Arnaz, Nivell Rayda & Antara