Army chief's son still detained over drug bust

Army chief's son still detained over drug bust

JAKARTA (JP): A junior Army officer who was arrested by police
during a drug raid in Jakarta is still being detained at the
headquarters of his unit, Special Force (Kopassus), according to
a police officer who is closely following the case.

The Jakarta Police, which made the bust, however never
officially confirmed press reports of the arrest of 24-year old
Second Lt. Agus Ishok, who is also the son of Army chief of staff
Gen. Subagyo.

"I don't know... I don't know anything about the case anymore.
Don't ask me about it. I am not handling the case," Jakarta
Police Chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman told reporters.

Asked for confirmation that the suspect was being detained at
Kopassus' headquarters, Noegroho retorted: "Don't ask me!"

A senior police officer however confirmed the report, which
contradicted earlier speculation that Agus had been handed over
to the Military Police for questioning.

"Yes, he is being detained there. But his fate is unknown,"
said the source who requested anonymity.

"That boy should not have been escorted to his father's home
in the first place. He should have been handed over immediately
to the Military Police," the officer said.

"Elsewhere in the world, if police caught a soldier doing
drugs, they would handle the case. It is only in Indonesia, that
we have the Military Police handling such cases," he said with a
cynical laugh.

The penalty for drug trafficking in a civilian court is a
maximum 15 years jail or a fine of up to Rp 200 million
(US$26,666), although few judges have had the courage to give the
maximum penalty. It is not immediately known whether such an
offense carries a similar penalty in a military court.

Agus was apprehended during a drug raid at a hotel on Aug. 8
by the West Jakarta Police. He and an accomplice were caught in
possession of heroin, shabu-shabu and over 6,000 ecstasy pills.

Agus had given a different name at the time of the arrest but
when police discovered his real identity during questioning
later, he was immediately escorted to his father's house
apparently upon Noegroho's orders, according to a police source.

The press caught wind of the arrest when the initial police
report and information regarding the handover to Agus's father
was leaked.

In subsequent police reports, however, Agus's name has been
excised, and Nugroho and his staff has since been forced to deny
any knowledge of the arrest.

Lt. Gen. (ret.) Hasnan Habib, former ambassador to the United
States, leads the chorus for a thorough and open investigation of
the case.

"The Indonesian Military must dare to take responsibility. It
must explain to the people what the case was all about," he told
reporters on Wednesday. "Whatever the consequence of the case,
TNI must explain," he said.

On Wednesday, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar M.
Sianipar called on the courts to mete the maximum penalty for
drug traffickers, noting the alarming increase of drug use among
the country's youths.

"Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Japan sentence drug
traffickers and dealers to death. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, drug
dealers get out of jail within months," Togar said. (ylt)