Cops cleared of blame in jailbreak
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Just a day the East Jakarta police precinct came under scrutiny after a daring daytime escape by three detainees, the city police all but exonerated the officers in charge on Thursday.
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said that a probe by the internal affairs division concluded that police guards had complied with required procedures in checking the detainees every two hours.
"Internal affairs investigators now claim that police guards did their duty properly. All the policemen in question are, therefore, cleared of all negligence charges," Tjitono said on Thursday.
Three detainees, identified as Ruswandi, 35, Erwando, 31, and Jamawahir Silaban, 49, broke out of the East Jakarta police detention center shortly before noon on Tuesday by sawing through the bars of their cell.
The three fugitives were detained over traffic accidents, involving death or serious injury in different locations of East Jakarta.
Tjiptono said it took only 15 minutes for the detainees to saw through the bars and escape while, as required, the officers had been checking on the detainees every two hours.
"Outsiders helped them escape by providing saws. Someone through hacksaw blades through the cell window. So, there was still time for them to flee before the guards rechecked them again," said Tjiptono.
A police source, however, called it an implausible story, as someone should have heard the noise when they were cutting through the iron bars.
"The sawing must have produced some loud noise. The guards should have heard it if they were not sleeping," he said.
According to the law, people accused of crimes that carry a punishment of five years or more may be detained by police pending the completion of their dossiers.
Tjiptono said police had contacted the fugitives' family members in an effort to be able to locate them as soon as possible.
"Their family members regretted that they ran away. After all, they were not hardened criminals. They said they hoped the fugitives would surrender. They promised to inform the police, if they heard something about the fugitives," he claimed.
Tuesday's jailbreak was the latest in a long series of people escaping from the police detention centers. Last Sunday seven more detainees broke out of the Bojong Gede police detention center through a hole they had been digging for several days using spoons and forks.
City police headquarters have not yet determined whether Bojong Gede chief Adj. Comr. Haryono and his officers would be charged or not.