Cops cleared of blame in jailbreak<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Just a day the East Jakarta police precinct came under scrutiny
\nafter a daring daytime escape by three detainees, the city police
\nall but exonerated the officers in charge on Thursday.<\/p>\n
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said that a probe by
\nthe internal affairs division concluded that police guards had
\ncomplied with required procedures in checking the detainees every
\ntwo hours.<\/p>\n
\"Internal affairs investigators now claim that police guards
\ndid their duty properly. All the policemen in question are,
\ntherefore, cleared of all negligence charges,\" Tjitono said on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
Three detainees, identified as Ruswandi, 35, Erwando, 31, and
\nJamawahir Silaban, 49, broke out of the East Jakarta police
\ndetention center shortly before noon on Tuesday by sawing through
\nthe bars of their cell.<\/p>\n
The three fugitives were detained over traffic accidents,
\ninvolving death or serious injury in different locations of East
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Tjiptono said it took only 15 minutes for the detainees to saw
\nthrough the bars and escape while, as required, the officers had
\nbeen checking on the detainees every two hours.<\/p>\n
\"Outsiders helped them escape by providing saws. Someone
\nthrough hacksaw blades through the cell window. So, there was
\nstill time for them to flee before the guards rechecked them
\nagain,\" said Tjiptono.<\/p>\n
A police source, however, called it an implausible story, as
\nsomeone should have heard the noise when they were cutting
\nthrough the iron bars.<\/p>\n
\"The sawing must have produced some loud noise. The guards
\nshould have heard it if they were not sleeping,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to the law, people accused of crimes that carry a
\npunishment of five years or more may be detained by police
\npending the completion of their dossiers.<\/p>\n
Tjiptono said police had contacted the fugitives' family
\nmembers in an effort to be able to locate them as soon as
\npossible.<\/p>\n
\"Their family members regretted that they ran away. After all,
\nthey were not hardened criminals. They said they hoped the
\nfugitives would surrender. They promised to inform the police, if
\nthey heard something about the fugitives,\" he claimed.<\/p>\n
Tuesday's jailbreak was the latest in a long series of people
\nescaping from the police detention centers. Last Sunday seven
\nmore detainees broke out of the Bojong Gede police detention
\ncenter through a hole they had been digging for several days
\nusing spoons and forks.<\/p>\n
City police headquarters have not yet determined whether
\nBojong Gede chief Adj. Comr. Haryono and his officers would be
\ncharged or not.<\/p>",
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