Crime doesn't pay

Crime doesn't pay

When it comes to criminology, there are a couple of adages
that are worth remembering, namely "There is no perfect crime"
and "Crime doesn't pay".

In the context of the widely reported, bizarre cases of the
disappearance of scores of people in Indonesia who happened to be
political or social activists, both adages seem to apply.

Some of them reappeared after a while. Yet, most of them have
preferred to keep silent rather than disclosing what happened to
them. Many more are still at large. Everything remains clouded in
mystery. Even the authorities have admitted to have no
indications as to the whereabouts of those still missing, and
therefore a small committee has been formed by the commander in
chief of the Armed Forces to carry out further investigation.

Nevertheless, in a kind of jigsaw puzzle, people try to
decipher the truth from the fragmented facts and the statements
by those who managed to resurface. Pius Lustrilanang was just
released by his abductors after disappearing for almost two
months. In his testimony before the National Committee on Human
Rights, he affirmed that during his detention and torturous
interrogation he saw several other people widely reported to have
disappeared. Another victim, Haryanto Taslam, a political
activist who was also released, affirmed Pius' testimony that he
was detained in the same location, though he declined to comment
on other details.

After the hearing, the committee concluded that the
involuntary disappearance of several people was the result of a
well-organized abduction. In view of the fact that a number of
people were apparently kept in a special detention location, it
only makes sense to suppose that the acts must be the work of a
well-regulated organization. Regardless of how well-organized the
organization may be, it committed a clumsy error when keeping a
number of detainees in the same location.

It reminds us of a story of the civil war in Lebanon a few
years back, when the warring factions kept their hostages in
scattered and secluded locations to avoid detection and
communication among them. The abductors in our country should
have followed their Lebanese counterparts. They were probably
quite confident that the victims would remain silent through a
kind of dealing and threatening when they emerged. Anyway, it has
proved that "There is no perfect crime."

Based on their testimonies, just before the release of Pius
and also Desmond J. Mahesa, another victim, they were whisked
away blindfolded, dropped near a Jakarta airport and provided
with one-way air tickets back to their hometowns. Whoever
committed the crime would not be that generous if it was for
material motives. After all, those who were abducted and those
still missing -- mostly students or social and political
activists -- are practically penniless.

What were the organized abductors running after if a material
motive is out of the question by the above reasoning? There can
only be one explanation: political motives. Here the abductors
left yet another telltale track that can lead to further
investigation. Even though the abduction was a blatantly
committed crime, many believe that the act was not done by the
underworld organized crime. This again proves that "There will be
no perfect crime ever!"

In the era of open communication like today and in a
democratic society, the use of force, terror, coercion and
intimidation of people having different views and convictions
with the authorities have to be rejected and stopped immediately.
Particularly, the practices of abduction and other criminal
methods in silencing outspoken critics and opposition may achieve
a short-term goal but it will not work for all time. Sooner or
later, it will be uncovered because "Crime doesn't pay", said the
old adage.

JOESOEPADI

Jakarta