Detectives detained for allegedly torturing workers
Detectives detained for allegedly torturing workers
Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
The efforts of the police force to boost its image hit another
snag when four members of East Java Police were detained for
allegedly abducting and torturing three workers of housewares
manufacturing company PT Maspion.
The four officers, Second Insp. Visto Arif Pramana, First
Brig. Sunari, Brig. Untoro and Brig. Ali, are being detained at
by the provincial police for investigation. All of them are
detectives who were assigned to investigate theft at the company.
"We arrested them and are trying to find out their motives,"
East Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Heru Susanto said here on
Sunday.
Investigators have questioned the officers one by one, but
intend to quiz them altogether to cross-check.
The three workers were identified as Sriyono, Rudi Yulianto
and Ikwantoro.
They were reportedly kidnapped on June 4, while on their way
home from the factory. An Isuzu Panther van stopped and four men,
who turned out to be the detectives, forced them into the van.
The three were allegedly beaten inside the van after they refused
to confess they had stolen merchandise from the company.
The three workers have maintained their innocence.
They were dropped off near the factory near the Surabaya Grand
Mosque.
The three workers quickly reported the incident to the police.
Heru asserted that the police officers had stepped beyond
their authority and did not act on behalf of the police force.
He said he could not identify the violation committed by the
detectives as the investigation was still under way.
The four policemen could be brought to justice on charges of
either indiscipline or committing a crime.
Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Sad Harunantyo, meanwhile, asked
the press not to blow the incident out of proportion and compare
it to the case of Marsinah, a female labor leader who was
murdered after leading a protest in 1992.
Earlier on Friday, chairman of the Monitoring Team for Victims
of Abduction (TPKP) Ismail Syarif demanded a hearing with the
police chief in connection with the case, but to no avail.
"We will report this case to Minister of Manpower and
Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea," Ismail said, adding that he
regretted that the police chief failed to meet him to explain the
incident.
He said he was afraid the case would draw the attention of the
international community.