'Defiant' police officer goes on hunger strike

JAKARTA (JP): One of eight police officers being detained by National Police on charges of insubordination, has gone on a hunger strike because of unfair treatment, one of the officers' 40 lawyers said on Wednesday.

Lawyer Suci Madio said the officer, Adj. Sr. Comr. Herman Kotto started his hunger strike on Tuesday morning. He is being detained with his colleagues at Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) Headquarters in Kelapa Dua, south of Jakarta.

"Herman is protesting the unfair treatment that he and his colleagues are receiving from the National Police," Suci told The Jakarta Post.

He said his client was earlier promised that he would be questioned over insubordination charges in a hall at National Police Headquarters in South Jakarta.

However, Herman, along with his six colleagues, was arrested after he arrived at police headquarters on July 25 and has been detained in a detention center at the Brimob headquarters with other suspects charged with general crimes.

One other officer, Sr. Comr. Alfons Loemau, who refused to appear for questioning, was arrested at his house in Pondok Karya police housing complex, South Jakarta, on the following day.

The lawyer revealed that Herman, who was examined by a medical doctor when his lawyers visited him on Tuesday evening, was weak.

Besides Herman and Alfons, the other six officers being detained are Sr. Comr. Bambang Widodo, Sr. Comr. Parlindungan Sinaga, Sr. Comr. Nurdin Umar, Sr. Comr. Badaruzzaman Haidir, Sr. Comr. Banjar Nahor and Sr. Comr. Salihin.

Alfons and Badaruzzaman were rushed from the Brimob detention center to Kramat Jati Police Hospital on Tuesday, suffering from typhoid and a high fever respectively.

Alfons, through his lawyers, filed a lawsuit at the South Jakarta District Court on Monday against National Police Chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro, rejecting the arrest and detention.

Separately, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Didi Widayadi confirmed Herman's hunger strike but refused to provide further details.

"The doctor will examine him, but we don't want the strike issue to be blown out of proportion," Didi told the Post on Wednesday, adding that the suspect was under "police legal supervision".

He suggested that the issue had been blown out of proportion by lawyers to achieve a political aim.

"It (the negative reports) are counterproductive to our supervision of the officers," Didi said.

The eight officers allegedly led some 150 middle-ranking police officers to stage a revolt against Bimantoro on July 9 after he refused to hand over his post to Gen. Chaeruddin Ismail.

They had declared the police chief disobedient and demanded that he comply with presidential orders, issued by then president Abdurrahman Wahid, to vacate his post. (jun)