Bogor police chief replaced over graft

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Police announced on Tuesday that they had fired the Bogor police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Agung Kurnia Sutisna due to alleged graft in the city's traffic police division.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Aryanto Boedihardjo said that the dismissal was related to several Bogor police officers who were taking bribes in the licensing and documentation office.

The officers requested money from people who wished to make or renew their driver's licenses and vehicle registration documents (STNK) over and above the regular fee.

"We heard complaints from the public about such practices in the licensing and documentation office and after further investigation, we found that the Bogor police chief was tolerating it," Aryanto said.

Four police officers working in the licensing and documentation office were arrested earlier by investigators from the national police headquarters for offering a motorcycle license for Rp 185,000 (US$19.47), much higher than the normal fee of Rp 75,000.

Agung was replaced by Adj. Sr. Comr Kamil Razak, who used to be Soreang police chief, also in West Java. Kamil was inaugurated on Monday in a quick ceremony.

Aryanto said that National Police chief Gen. Sutanto had issued orders to conduct similar investigations in other cities in a bid to improve police performance in the eyes of the public.

"We encourage the public to tell us if there are any complaints about police services so that we can improve ourselves," Aryanto said.