14 policemen arrested for killing suspect

14 policemen arrested for killing suspect

Oktovianus Pinontoan, The Jakarta Post, Ambon, Maluku

Fourteen policemen have been arrested for allegedly beating a
suspected thief to death earlier this month in the Maluku capital
of Ambon, police officers said on Friday.

The 14 policemen have been charged with beating to death
Syaiful Ibrahim, 17, who was arrested on Nov. 4 for stealing Rp 6
million (US$705) in cash and 57 grams of gold from a jewelry
store in the Batu Merah market in Ambon.

Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Bambang Sutrisno said the 14
suspects from the Ambon district police station were being held
at the Maluku Police Headquarters for questioning.

"All (the suspects) are currently being questioned to
establish whether any professional violations took place. Every
suspect should be protected, so why did he (Syaiful) die?" he
said.

Bambang said three civilians were also arrested in connection
with the death of Syaiful, who was allegedly beaten to death at
the local police station.

If found guilty, the 14 policemen could be dishonorably
discharged, Bambang said.

The 14 suspects include one senior officer and three members
of the elite Mobile Brigade. The names of the suspects were not
released.

Syaiful, a refugee from Batu Merah district, had been reported
to the police by the Wella family a day after they were robbed of
cash and gold.

Syaiful was accused of stealing Rp 6 million and 57 grams of
gold. Hours after the complaint was filed, police arrested
Syaiful. However, the suspect fled as police transported him to
the Batu Merah market to be confronted by his accusers.

Local residents who joined the hunt for Syaiful said the
police recaptured the suspect soon afterward and took him back to
the station, where they allegedly beat him.

Sometime later the unconscious body of Syaiful was found in a
stall at the market by local residents, who rushed the victim to
the Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Tantui. Syaiful was then
transferred to Dr. Haulussy General Hospital, which is better
equipped to handle critical cases. Syaiful died on Nov. 6 from
his injuries.

His death sparked violence after someone claimed that Syaiful
was beaten to death by local residents, not police officers.

A crowd angered by the charge set ablaze a kiosk belonging to
the person who made this accusation, Antara reported.

There have been allegations in the past that the police
torture and beat suspects.

In February 2003, the police chief of a district on Rote
island off West Timor was fired for burning a suspected
motorcycle thief to death.

The suspect was doused with gasoline to frighten him into
confessing but the fuel was accidentally ignited, according to a
police spokesman at the time. It is not clear if the police chief
was ever charged with a crime.

In another case, Pujianto, 38, died on Oct. 7, 2003, of severe
injuries allegedly caused by a police beating.

A neighbor of the deceased said Pujianto was beaten by three
drunken policemen at about 1 a.m. on Sept. 30 in the Puri Depok
Mas housing complex on Jl. Raya Sawangan in Depok.

The policemen reportedly became enraged after Pujianto hit one
their cars with his hand.