17 inmates escape from detention in Bekasi

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Two days after two inmates escaped from a detention cell at the Matraman Police station in East Jakarta, 17 detainees made good their escape from the Bekasi Police station on Monday morning by sawing through the steel bars of their detention cell.

At the time the incident took place, at between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., two of the four police officers who should have been on duty were not at the station.

"It's clear that the incident was caused by the negligence of our officers," said Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo.

Prasetyo said officers from the Internal Affairs Division were questioning the four police officers scheduled to be on duty at the time of the escape.

"We are still investigating whether the inmates obtained the saw from visiting relatives or with the help of insiders," he said.

Prasetyo said anyone found guilty of helping the inmates escape could be charged under Article 223 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of two years and eight months in prison.

The inmates who escaped, most of whom were detained on drug- related charges, could face additional charges.

Prasetyo said the cell from which the inmates escaped was in the process of being enlarged. He said the cell was overcrowded, but did not give exact capacity figures.

The police have recaptured two of the escaped inmates, Yoyok Utoyo, a suspect in a drug trafficking case, and Karnadi Usman, a theft suspect.

They were arrested in Tambun and Sukawangi, Bekasi, respectively.

"We are tracking down the remaining 15 inmates. Hopefully, they are still around Bekasi," Prasetyo said.

According to Article 426 of the Criminal Code on negligence while on duty, if the police officers are found to have been responsible for the escape they could be sentenced to up to two months in prison.

Despite the escapes, Prasetyo said the city police did not have plans to improve security at police detention centers.

"It is only a case of negligence. Nothing is wrong with the security system at our detention centers," Prasetyo said.

A criminologist at the University of Indonesia, Erlangga Masdiana, said the police should learn from these incidents.

"The police must evaluate its entire system at the detention centers, especially its policy toward detainees," he said.

Erlangga said the escapes reflected the way police viewed detainees.

For the police, Erlangga said, detainees are often considered "commodities" and the more suspects they arrest the better their chances for a promotion.

"But this has boomeranged on them (police) because the detention centers get overcrowded, which is a burden on the police," he said.

Many police detention cells here are overcrowded. Last year 24 inmates escaped from the Senen police detention cell in Central Jakarta. They packed a nine-square-meter cell which could only accommodate 10 people at the most. The incident had prompted the police to enlarge the cell.

Table:

Escapes in 2002 and 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------- Date Location Escapees -------------------------------------------------------------- May 10, 2002 Senen subprecinct,

Central Jakarta 24 inmates

April 28, 2003 Beji subprecinct,

Depok 5 inmates

May 24, 2003 Matraman subprecinct,

East Jakarta 2 inmates

May 26, 2003 Bekasi precint 17 inmates

Source: Media reports