Extortion allegations queried

Extortion allegations queried

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Internal affairs officers from the Jakarta Police are questioning
the head of the Pasanggrahan Police subprecinct, Comr. Sudiyono,
over allegations he extorted Rp 30 million (US$3,000) from a
suspect in a case he was handling.

Internal affairs chief Sr. Comr. Anwaruddin said that as of
Wednesday his officers were still questioning Sudiyono over the
allegations he extorted money from a man identified only as
Julius.

"We are still investigating the case. We are questioning him.
However, we have not declared him a suspect because we are still
trying to determine whether there is sufficient evidence,"
Anwaruddin told The Jakarta Post.

He promised that Sudiyono would be placed under arrest if
sufficient evidence was found to warrant criminal charges.

Anwaruddin said Julius, a suspect in an ongoing criminal case,
filed a complaint last week saying Sudiyono demanded money in
exchange for dropping the case.

Two other officers, identified as First Insp. Syamsuddin and
Second Adj. Insp. P. Daulay, have also been questioned in
connection with the case.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana
criticized the media for focusing on this case, saying extortion
was common in other government institutions. He accused the media
of being biased against the police.

"There is nothing special here. It only became a big case
because those reporting on it have a prejudice against the
police," he said.

Legal and social observers agreed that this case was not
special, saying this kind of extortion happened frequently
because of a lack of control over police officers.

Earlier, three police officers, including a commissioner, were
arrested and charged with extorting Rp 64 million from a Japanese
businessman.

The three officers, two from National Police Headquarters and
the third from Jakarta Police Headquarters, were charged with
the extortion of a 56-year-old Japanese national. The officers
reportedly did a routine stop on the Japanese man and threatened
to put him in jail unless he paid them Rp 100 million because he
was not carrying his passport.