Dolog Jaya boss quizzed over dubious transaction
Dolog Jaya boss quizzed over dubious transaction
JAKARTA (JP): The city police questioned the city's logistics
agency (Dolog Jaya) head Ahmad Zawawi on Wednesday for almost
five hours over alleged illegal rice transactions and rice
exports to Kuching, Malaysia.
Zawawi, who left the economics unit of the city police
detectives department at 2:30 p.m., refused to go into detail
about the questioning.
"I'm a witness, not a suspect. I just talked (with the
interrogators)," Zawawi told reporters, then quickly got into his
sedan and left the city police headquarters.
City police spokesman Lt. Col. Edward Aritonang confirmed that
Zawawi had been questioned as a witness.
But, the officer added, the police investigation might also
lead to the Dolog Jaya boss becoming a suspect.
"During today's questioning, we only asked him about general
matters, such as the mechanism of rice distribution," Aritonang
said.
He said the police planned to question Zawawi again some time
in the future.
According to Aritonang, the city police have found strong
indications of recent violations at Dolog Jaya in allocating rice
to its distributors.
Normally, he said, distributors have to line-up at Dolog Jaya
to get a notice signed by the agency's head.
The notice, called Surat Perintah Setor (SPS), states the
quantity of rice to be allocated to a distributor and the amount
of money to be paid to the agency through Bank Bukopin, Aritonang
explained.
Dolog Jaya's head had the authority to determine rice
allocations, he said.
After paying for the rice at the bank, distributors receive
delivery orders which are used to take the rice from the agency's
warehouses, the officer said.
Speed service
"But, based on witnesses' testimonies, Zawawi often received
distributors at his office after working hours," Aritonang told
the media.
The police, he added, had also learned that distributors could
obtain an SPS in two ways: the normal procedure which forces one
to spend hours in long queues, and the so-called "shortcut".
People who chose the shortcut usually received larger amounts
of rice, he said.
Aritonang refused to disclose whether Zawawi asked for money
from distributors who took the shortcut.
"You can easily draw your own conclusions," he said.
Besides Zawawi, the police have so far questioned four other
Dolog Jaya officials: deputy head Saean Ahmad and senior staff
members Edi H., Mulia S. and Edi S., all from the distribution
unit, he said.
None of them have been charged in connection with the case.
Zawawi was questioned in regard to last week's arrest of 15
people at Zawawi's office in North Jakarta for allegedly
possessing illegal rice delivery orders.
His questioning was also in connection with the discovery of
1,900 tons of rice at Sunda Kelapa Port in North Jakarta.
The rice, police said, was to be shipped to Kuching.
Nine people were arrested at the time. Four of the nine have
been named as suspects, while the remaining five were released as
police found that they were only workers.
Meanwhile, the City Council urged the authorities on Wednesday
to temporarily relieve Zawawi and the four staff members from
their jobs.
"While the Dolog Jaya officials are still under police
questioning, the responsible parties should relieve them of their
jobs soon," council speaker Edy Walujo said.
By doing so, the officials would no longer have access to the
office to, for example, throw away important evidence, such as
files related to the cases, he said.
"These men, if found guilty, should be punished with the
maximum penalties as a warning to other officials. I really
believe there are many qualified and clean officials that could
replace them," Edy added. (jun/ida)