Cop with bad record made chief

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Former West Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Bambang Wasgito was installed as the Bogor Police chief on Tuesday, replacing Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam who had been in office for 14 months, in a ceremony led by West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Dadang Garnida.

Anton, formerly Jakarta Police spokesman, was appointed head of the Bali Police's internal affairs division.

Before being installed as Bogor Police chief, Bambang served at the National Police transnational crime division since last August. His promotion occurred after an extortion allegation had been leveled against him.

His new position has been questioned by Police Watch.

"The public knows that Bambang has a bad record. I think his installment will have a negative impact on the police's attempt to improve their image," said Rashid Lubis, chairman of Police Watch. "It proves collusion still exists within the police."

In mid last year, Bambang was accused of extorting money from several traditional Chinese medicine vendors. The National Police also received copies of receipts suggesting that Bambang and some of his subordinates had received millions of rupiah from managers of gambling and entertainment dens in Glodok, West Jakarta.

The receipts revealed, among other things, that Bambang had spent Rp 60 million (US$7,143) on a car and Rp 2 million in karaoke halls.

National Police internal affairs question Bambang last June in connection with the allegation, but the result of the investigation was not made public.