Crime in 2000 well-organized, ruthless: Mulyono
Crime in 2000 well-organized, ruthless: Mulyono
JAKARTA (JP): The capital registered a 12.25 percent decrease
in crime in 2000 compared to the previous year, but the nature of
crimes were more organized, ruthless, as well as being difficult
to both solve and take to court, Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen.
Mulyono Sulaiman said.
Briefing the media about Jakarta Police's performance during
2000, the police chief said on Sunday that 16,346 criminal cases
were recorded during the year, slightly lower than 1999's 18,603.
"The crime in year 2000 was about deadly organized bombings
which occurred back to back, high-profile corruption and drug
cases, and a sharp rise in drug smuggling and possession," the
two-star general said.
Mulyono said that the understaffed city police force had
worked round the clock on politically-charged criminal cases,
like the attack on National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairman Matori
Abdul Djalil in March, and the Rp 35 billion (US$3.6 million)
State Logistics Agency (Bulog) scandal, however their principal
activity all year long involved responding to bomb attacks.
"It's impossible for city police not to associate the year
2000 with bombs ... scores died as a result. The blasts were
organized, deadly, were large-scale, they occurred every other
month, and had unusual timing. They kept the police working all
year long," Mulyono told reporters after the media conference.
"It becomes harder to prevent such blasts due to their
frequency, the fact that they are very well organized, and that
only the bomb carriers are traceable, not the mastermind."
At least 16 people died in bomb blasts in Jakarta last year.
Aside from the notorious Christmas Eve bombings, bomb blast
incidents in 2000 occurred once in February, March and April
each, thrice in August and thrice in September.
The year 2000 ended with one of the most tragic incidents in
Indonesian history, as bombs exploded at churches nationwide on
Christmas Eve, killing at least 17 people, including three in
Jakarta.
Even though, as Mulyono confirmed, city police intelligence
did receive information beforehand regarding possible bomb blasts
on Christmas Eve, some 15,000 police officers deployed across
Greater Jakarta were unable to prevent the explosions.
Going by the death toll, however, the worst incident was the
Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) blast on Sept. 13, which claimed at
least 11 lives.
Mulyono added that drug offenses and rapes also increased in
2000.
"Drug-related cases rose to 1,528 in 2000 from 881 in the
previous year. Rapes increased to 85 from 65 in 1999," Mulyono
said.
Drug cases became particularly interesting with several well-
known personalities and many foreigners being arrested in drug
related crimes, with shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine),
marijuana and heroin, continuing to be the most popular drugs.
Ten African men were shot dead by police during separate drug
raids in January, one at a rented house in South Jakarta and
another at a dilapidated building in Central Jakarta.
In both cases, the African suspects were either international
cocaine or heroin smugglers.
In June, the wife of a grandson of former president Soeharto,
Gusti Maya Firandi Noor, was arrested for possessing shabu-shabu.
Contraband confiscated last year included 4.44 tons of
marijuana, 54,200 grams of shabu-shabu, 21,000 grams of heroin,
16,000 grams of cocaine and 35,100 ecstasy pills.
Other criminal cases which showed an increase in 2000 included
homicide, juvenile delinquency, torture and arson.
A total of 26 people died in student brawls last year, while
96 others died in street justice acts of extreme violence,
normally dubbed vigilante attacks.
Mulyono said that 857 accidents were recorded on Jakarta's
roads last year, slightly lower than the 1999 figure of 933.
A total of 352 people died in incidents reported to police
during 2000, slightly higher than the 315 deaths recorded in
1999. (ylt)