Indonesian military commander says his luxury Richard Mille watch is really Chinese made fake

Gen. Moeldoko (Wikipedia photo)

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesia’s military commander said critics who called him out for wearing an especially luxurious watch should be quiet because the timepiece is actually a cheap Chinese fake.

A Singapore website flagged a picture of the general and his watch this week, saying it was from the Richard Mille brand’s Filipe Massa collection and worth more than $100,000. The report caused a social media storm in a country where the average income is about $8.50 a day.

Gen. Moeldoko, who uses a single name, said it was a Chinese-made copy and cost only 5 million rupiah ($430).

He removed the watch from his wrist and showed it to reporters who were covering a meeting Wednesday of Indonesia and Philippines military officials.

“This is a Chinese-made fake watch… how could such a watch be original,” he said while slamming the watch on the floor.

Richard Mille did not immediately respond to a question about the general’s remarks, which appeared to indicate a lack of concern for intellectual property rights, not uncommon in Indonesia.

The website, mothership.sg, also showed photos of Moeldoko wearing other luxury watches, including an Audemars Piguet Millenary – either a $43,000 Chronograph or a $476,600 Minute Repeater limited edition.

Moeldoko, who became Indonesia’s military chief last August, reported total assets of about 36 billion rupiah ($3 million) to the anti-graft commission last year.