Illegal miners use spoons and forks to dig way to freedom
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Jakarta Police internal affairs is now interrogating Adj. Comr. Haryono, chief of Bojong Gede Police subprecinct in Bogor, West Java, over the escape of seven detainees on Sunday.
Seven people, detained for stealing and illegal mining, broke out of the Bojong Gede Police detention center early Sunday morning through a hole they had dug for several days.
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said the police were negligent and sub-precinct chief Haryono must be held responsible.
He said 18 other lower officers had been questioned to determine whether any of them were involved in the jailbreak.
"Guards are supposed to check the detainees every hour to make sure that they are still in place, and nothing has happened to them. The fact that they (detainees) were able to escape through a hole they dug over several days shows that the officers had not performed their duty at all," said Tjiptono.
"We don't know yet if the precinct chief will be dismissed as we are still waiting for the completion of the internal affairs investigation. There should be some sort of punishment for the negligent officers," said Tjiptono.
He said three of the seven fugitives had been rearrested by police.
Muhammad Rizki and Yosep alias Asep were nabbed in Rangkas Bitung, West Java on Monday while Muchsin was arrested in Gambir, Central Jakarta on the same day.
Four others, identified as Kamaruzaman alias Manan, Jajang Suparman, Ricky Bachri alias Ricky, and Hermansyah alias Lolo are still at large.
They escaped from the detention center at around 4 a.m. through a hole they dug for days using spoons and forks.
A police guard Naswir Chan was surprised to find the detention cell empty when he took over the shift at 8:30 a.m., while he discovered a hole that passed under the wall of the cell.
He also found several spoons and forks near the hole, that led to a spacious park beside the police station.
"Several of them were arrested for pickpocketing on a train while others are illegal gold miners. That's why they could dig fast although they just used spoons and forks," said Tjiptono.
He complained that beside the fact that the officers had not done their job properly, the cell was already old and weak which explains why the criminals could break out so easily.
"The building is semi-permanent, and built some fifty years ago, and has never been renovated due to a lack of funds," said Tjiptono.
There have been many cases of detainees breaking out of police cells recently. Several alleged criminals in Central Java, South Sulawesi, and Jakarta have managed to dupe police in the last few months.
A Singaporean citizen Thang Kheng Seng alias Jeremy, detained for stealing visitors' personal property in several five-star hotels in Jakarta, managed to escape from Jakarta Police headquarters in February.
Jeremy told police officers after he was rearrested in Bali that he bribed police guards who let him escape. Five officers have been questioned and sanctioned due to the incident.