Illegal miners use spoons and forks to dig way to freedom
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.