Armed officials under review

Armed officials under review

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A city public order officer shot a member of a gang, who died a
day later on Thursday, leading to an intensive police
investigation and a review of a three-decade old policy to arm
administration officials.

The officer, identified as Krisman Siregar, is now being
detained at Jakarta Police Headquarters.

According to Jakarta Public Order Agency head Soebagio, the
suspect is the head of an operation unit.

"The incident is too costly a lesson for us. We will look into
the case to find out what is wrong with the policy (to allow the
officers to carry firearms)," he said.

Soebagio added that currently at least 40 heads of operation
units carry firearms.

The agency has a total of 70 revolvers.

The public order officers have been using guns in their
operations since the 1970s. Aside from public order officers,
officers from the Jakarta Transportation Agency are also allowed
to use guns.

According to Law No. 8/1948 on the possession and use of
firearms, a civilian is allowed to possess a gun only with a
permit issued by the National Police.

Jakarta Police detectives chief Sr. Comr. Mathius Salempang
said that the incident on Wednesday afternoon took place after a
quarrel with the victim, identified only as Albert, 39, a member
of a gang led by Hercules who has made his name in Tanah Abang,
Central Jakarta.

Albert was shot in the head and fell into a coma. He died on
Thursday after being treated at Thamrin Hospital, Central
Jakarta.

"The cause of the quarrel remains unclear," he said, adding
that the police were still looking at a video recording of the
incident, taken by an unidentified person.

According to Soebagio, Albert was a guard at an empty 6.2-
hectare plot of land on Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said, South Jakarta,
where some 100 public order officers were deployed to help watch
over the fencing of the site.

"The fencing was based on a request by local residents who
complained about the presence of unidentified people occupying
the site," he revealed.

Soebagio said the site belonged to state oil and gas company
Pertamina, but the police said that PT Multi Angsana Ganda which
represents businesswoman Dewi and Kosim Zein, also filed a claim
as the owner of the land.

The shooting has sparked fears of a retaliatory attack by the
victim's friends, who tried to enter the City Hall on
Thursday.(001)