Singaporean's bribery claim probed<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Police are investigating alleged bribery involving five police
\nguards after a Singaporean arrested for theft, Tang Khen Seng,
\n32, alias Jeremy, told local television stations that he had paid
\nhis way out of detention last week.<\/p>\n
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said Thursday that
\nthe five police personnel were still being detained and
\ninterrogated for allegedly receiving bribe money from Jeremy, who
\nwas arrested for allegedly breaking into guest's lockers in spas
\nand fitness centers of several five-star hotels in the capital.<\/p>\n
"Up until today, there is no evidence that our officers
\nreceived bribes from Jeremy. However, we are still questioning
\nthem. If we find enough evidence we will punish them according
\nto the law," Tjiptono said.<\/p>\n
He said the five police guards, including guard shift leader
\nAdj. Sec. Insp. Mayer Manalu, admitted that they had been very
\nclose with the suspect during the last two months of his
\ndetention.<\/p>\n
"It is normal for guards and suspects to talk with each other
\nas they meet every day," Tjiptono said.<\/p>\n
Last Friday, Jeremy successfully persuaded guards on duty to
\nlet him use the visitor's toilet, instead of the prisoner's
\ntoilet. He broke through the window of the toilet and escaped.<\/p>\n
After several days on the run, Jeremy was arrested on Tuesday
\nevening by local police at the Conrad Hotel in Denpasar, Bali
\nwhile allegedly trying to steal visitor's personal belongings in
\nthe hotel's locker room.<\/p>\n
Upon his arrival from Denpasar last Wednesday, Jeremy told
\nseveral TV stations that police guards offered him a way to
\nescape in exchange for money.<\/p>\n
"They offered it to me ... and I paid them some money to let
\nme escape," he told reporters in a door-stop interview in front
\nof the city police general crime division building.<\/p>\n
Jeremy also complained that police officers had treated him
\nharshly.<\/p>\n
Tjiptono denied Jeremy's allegations saying that police had a
\ncode of conduct for treating suspects and that he had injured his
\nlegs by jumping from the third floor of a hotel in an effort to
\navoid arrest by security guards.<\/p>\n
"His earlier case file is complete. Prosecutors will probably
\ndeclare it complete in two days," said Tjiptono.<\/p>\n
Jeremy was charged under Article 363 of Criminal Code on
\ntheft, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.<\/p>\n
He was arrested for the first time on Dec. 7 last year
\nfollowing a police investigation into allegations that he was
\ninvolved in the theft of visitor's belongings in gymnasiums and
\nspas at several five-star hotels in Jakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/singaporeans-bribery-claim-probed-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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