Public not reporting bomb hoaxes<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As more and more building owners are reluctant to call the police
\nafter receiving bomb threats, public safety is now at stake.<\/p>\n
The main reason is that the supposedly free public service now
\nhas a price tag.<\/p>\n
Criminologist Adrianus Meliala from the University of
\nIndonesia, who often acts as an advisor to the police, said that
\nthe police should take tough measures against officers who
\ndemanded payment.<\/p>\n
\"This practice disrupts efforts to prevent terrorist attacks,
\nwhile it's the public that bears all the risk,\" he told The
\nJakarta Post on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) activist Luki Djani said the
\nexcuse of budget constraints to justify police demanding payment
\nfor their services was unacceptable as it was the right of
\ncitizens to get security protection from the state.<\/p>\n
\"Police always say that they don't have the money to finance
\ntheir operations. But, we know that they get huge amounts of
\nmoney from illegal sources. Why don't they use that money to pay
\nthe bomb squad?\"<\/p>\n
He asserted that many reports had showed that many police
\nofficers had billions of rupiah in the bank, while a bomb squad
\nofficer earned about Rp 1 million (less than US$100) a month.<\/p>\n
A number of building managers in the capital complained
\nearlier that they were forced to make a deal on the payment
\nbefore the police agreed to send in the bomb squad to sweep the
\nbuildings after receiving bomb threats.<\/p>\n
Many of them, who received more than one call, suspected a new
\nmode of extortion.<\/p>\n
The issue surfaced last week after the police made public
\ntheir displeasure with the management of French hypermarket
\nCarrefour which failed to inform them about a bomb threat and,
\ninstead, deployed its internal security guards to sweep the
\nstore.<\/p>\n
The hypermarket opened the following day as no bomb was found
\nby the security guards.<\/p>\n
The Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) stipulates that only
\nthe police have the right and expertise to investigate terror
\nthreats.<\/p>\n
The police said that if there had been an explosion, the
\nhypermarket could have faced criminal charges for negligence
\nresulting in injuries.<\/p>\n
Adrianus suggested that the police communicate with building
\nmanagers and convince them politely that they were not going to
\ndisrupt the operations of the building.<\/p>\n
\"Furthermore, the public should stop giving money to the
\npolice so it won't become a habit,\" he added.<\/p>\n
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana said
\nthat it was clear that police's internal regulations prohibit
\nofficers from asking money for their services.<\/p>\n
\"It's bribery and abuse of power at the same time. We never
\ntolerate that. If we ever catch an officer asking money from the
\npublic, we will punish him,\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
He said that public should refuse any demands for payment for
\na bomb sweeping service, and immediately report the officers to
\nthe Jakarta Police either by sending a text message to 1717 or by
\ncalling the police hotline on 112.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/public-not-reporting-bomb-hoaxes-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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