Five disgraced Brimob sergeants discharged

Five disgraced Brimob sergeants discharged

JAKARTA (JP): Five police officers of the Mobile Brigade
(Brimob) corps accused of taking part in a violent robbery last
week were publicly humiliated on Monday when their commander
roughly removed their insignias and berets to mark their
dismissal from the elite force.

The firing of the five officers, all of whom were second
sergeants, took place in an abrupt ceremony at the force
headquarters in Kelapa Dua, south of Jakarta, before some 4,000
Brimob corpsmen and dozens of journalists and television crews.

According to Brig. Gen. Firman Gani, commander of the corps,
who led the ceremony, the five -- Suharsono, Yusron, Miftahul
Huda, Tatit Dwi Putranto and Novianto -- deserved the public
humiliation for being dishonorably fired from the police force.

"Thousands of other members of this corps who are putting
their lives at risk in Ambon and Aceh, and even the spirits of
the late personnel who were killed while on mission in East Timor
years ago, must not be willing to accept such behavior carried
out by a few unit members who tarnish the image of the corps,"
Firman said in his speech.

He finally underlined that these five people "have violated
Article 365 of Criminal Code for committing armed robbery."

The decision to dismiss the officers was taken after a meeting
held a few hours earlier at the headquarters, he said. The
meeting, he added, was also attended by the five suspects and
their superiors.

Firman, however, did not explain whether, during the meeting,
the five admitted to their role in the crime.

Firman hoped the speedy dismissal of the five police officers
would help expedite the prosecution of the five for Thursday's
robbery and murder at a house in the Permata Hijau housing
complex in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta.

"We will send them today to the South Jakarta police precinct
(for further questioning) as civilians because they're no longer
members of the corps," the one-star general told reporters after
the ceremony.

Past records

He admitted, however, that some of the five suspects had
committed misdemeanors in the past and had been internally
punished for their wrongdoings.

"We did not bring them to court (at that time) since we
conducted discipline punishment against them," he said without
elaborating.

Firman vowed that he and the Mobile Brigade would never
hesitate to take stiff measures against crooked personnel within
his force.

He added that the low income of the force's members could not
be a justification for the officers to commit misdeeds.

"The limited equipment for the troops and wealth for the
personnel cannot justify committing crimes," he said.

In his speech, Firman also expressed his condolences to the
families of the murder and robbery victims and apologized to the
public that the corps members had abused the people's trust.

As reported earlier, the five Brimob sergeants along with five
civilian accomplices broke into a house at the Permata Hijau
estate and made off with two luxury cars.

A guard at the house, Musa, 50, whose mouth and nose were
heavily bandaged by the crooks, died later from asphyxiation.

One of the civilians was shot dead by police on the following
day.

The dismissal of the five officers left some wondering about
protocol since the court has yet to decide whether or not the
five Brimob officers are guilty.

But a noted legal expert, Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara,
insisted that he strongly supported the police's bid to purify
its corps of crooks.

Such humiliation was acceptable, he said separately on Monday.

"If it is a corps tradition, it is no problem since it is part
of the corps' attempt to promote internal discipline," he said.

Police officers allegedly involved in crimes cannot be brought
to court unless they are dismissed.

"The court proceeding can follow the dismissal. If the court
rules the officers not guilty, they can later rejoin their units
and ask for the rehabilitation of their names," Abdul Hakim said.
(asa)