Cops cleared of blame in jailbreak
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.