1-star general may be charged with bribery

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Wednesday he would not rule out the possibility of pressing forward with bribery charges against Brig. Gen. Ismoko, which the police disciplinary commission said were not proven.

The commission on Tuesday only found Ismoko guilty of "giving special treatment" to Adrian Waworuntu, a key suspect in the Rp 1.7 trillion (US$187 million) Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) scandal, in which Ismoko was the lead investigator.

In what was seen by many as lenient punishment, the commission suspended the one-star general for one year as the National Police operations chief for "preferential treatment in favor of Adrian", which led to the suspect's escape abroad, despite a travel ban.

Ismoko was, however, cleared of the much more controversial charge that he took bribes from Adrian, who is currently imprisoned at Cipinang Penitentiary here after being recaptured in Medan, North Sumatra last year.

Da'i defended the disciplinary commission's decision to punish Ismoko by making him non-active for a year, but he did say it seemed a bit lenient.

"The disciplinary hearing has made its decision. That's that," he told journalists after attending a Cabinet meeting.

However, Da'i said he would allow police investigators to further probe the bribery allegations against Ismoko.

It was up to the investigators whether to consider the case a violation of the code of ethics or the law, he added.

"There are still other options if the people are not satisfied (with the disciplinary commission's verdict). The case is not over yet," Da'i asserted.

He made the statement as anticorruption activists strongly criticized the punishment for Ismoko.

The critics urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to investigate the case against the brigadier general, saying that he should have been charged under the criminal law for corruption.

At the disciplinary hearing presided over by National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Adang Dorodjatun, Ismoko had been accused of violating three articles in the police code of ethics.

The first was for preferential treatment of suspects in the BNI fraud investigation. The second was for bribery, in the form of a laptop computer, a cellular phone, a television set and money -- one payment of US$20,000 and another Rp500 million -- which he was alleged to have received from Adrian. The third was for stalling to give Adrian time to escape before placing him in the custody of the prosecutors' office.

Adrian had managed to flee to the United States despite a travel ban imposed on him, and there were strong suspicions that high-ranking officers and bureaucrats were involved in abetting his escape. Some of the other suspects from Ismoko's investigation team have been detained by the police for allegedly taking smaller bribes, while others have been cleared of any wrongdoing.