Chief insists his officers innocent in 'Tempo' case
Chief insists his officers innocent in 'Tempo' case
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Despite the fact that National Police authorities have named two
police investigators as suspects in the Tempo magazine case, City
Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara insisted on Friday
that his subordinates committed no crime.
"I admit there was an administrative mistake in the dates used
in the dossiers... As their superior, I have received their
report," Makbul told reporters, referring to irregularities in
the dates mentioned in the case files, which Tempo lawyers say is
evidence of a cover-up.
The top cop in the city asserted that his investigators had
not manipulated the dates on the documents in question.
Makbul's statement was clearly at odds with the fact that the
police investigators had named two of his subordinates, Adj. Sr.
Comr. Tito Karnavian and Adj. Comr. Ponadi, for their alleged
involvement in document forgery.
After the police questioned Tempo's lawyers Aviv Dihan Kuntoro
and Djoko Prabowosaebani, they named Tito a suspect for document
forgery on Oct. 7.
Tito is the head of City Police National Security Section,
while Ponadi is Tito's subordinate. Both of them are
investigators in charge of handling the libel case filed by
businessman Tomy Winata relating to a Tempo story that did not
sit well with the well-connected tycoon.
Lawyers representing defendants Bambang Harymurti and
reporters Ahmad Taufik and T. Iskandar Ali had complained about
irregularities by the National Police, accusing them of issuing
fraudulent documents.
A confiscation warrant dated March 12, signed by Tito and
Ponadi, is simply at odds with the dossiers on the evidence
seizure execution dated on March 11. In local legal matters,
evidence can only be taken by the police after a warrant is
issued. But, Makbul now claims the date of the evidence seizure
was on March 18 but it was mistakenly typed March 11.
Meanwhile, chief of the National Police Internal Affairs
Division (Propam), Insp. Gen. Timbul Silaen said that his office
would speak with Tito and Ponadi.
The inaccurate date, Timbul asserted, could have been made due
to carelessness or it could have been done on purpose for a
certain reason.
"We are still investigating the case," he was quoted as saying
by KompasCyberMedia.
If the police officers were proven guilty of intentionally
falsifying wrong dates, they could face suspension, he said.