Kapolri Hoegeng Abruptly Dismissed by President While Uncovering Major Case

Investigating major cases was routine for a National Police Chief. However, for Hoegeng Imam Santoso, this duty became a turning point in his career. While handling a significant case, the fifth National Police Chief was abruptly dismissed from his position. On 2 October 1971, President Soeharto removed Hoegeng from his post as Kapolri. The reason given was that Hoegeng was considered old and was asked to take up a new position as the Indonesian Ambassador to Belgium. At the time, he was only 50 years old. “I will accept any assignment, sir, as long as it is not as an ambassador,” Hoegeng told Soeharto, as quoted in Hoegeng: Polisi Idaman dan Kenyataan (1993). The reasoning raised questions, as Hoegeng was in the midst of uncovering one of the largest smuggling cases of the early New Order period: the smuggling of luxury cars that caused state losses amounting to hundreds of millions of rupiah. In his autobiography, Hoegeng described the case as one of the biggest smuggling operations between 1968 and October 1972. Thousands of luxury cars entered Indonesia without paying import duties. According to Hoegeng, this practice could not have occurred without assistance from individuals within the bureaucracy. One of the key figures targeted in his investigation was Robby Tjahjadi. Robby was a graduate of Xaverius Senior High School in Surakarta who migrated to Jakarta in 1964. Five years later, he had become a distributor of smuggled luxury cars. Various brands, including Alfa Romeo, Fiat, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Continental, and even Rolls-Royce, entered Indonesia through illegal channels. According to Hoegeng, Robby used a diplomatic passport to reduce import duties and collaborated with corrupt customs officials to ensure the cars could pass into Indonesia. “They simply bribed several officials who were the decision-makers in customs matters,” Hoegeng wrote. In the midst of the investigation, Hoegeng received a summons to meet President Soeharto at his residence on Jalan Cendana Number 8, Menteng, Central Jakarta. He intended to use the opportunity to report on the progress of the luxury car smuggling case he was handling. However, that plan fell apart shortly after he arrived at Cendana. “The person I was going to report on had apparently already arrived at Jalan Cendana earlier to meet President Soeharto,” Hoegeng wrote in Hoegeng: Polisi dan Menteri Teladan (2016). The person in question was Robby Tjahjadi. Hoegeng even crossed paths with the luxury car smuggler, who was just leaving the president’s residence. That moment made Hoegeng realise that the person he was pursuing had connections within the power elite. He abandoned his intention to report the case and returned to the National Police Headquarters. Some time later, Hoegeng had to end his tenure as Kapolri. Although many linked his dismissal to the investigation into Robby Tjahjadi, Hoegeng himself never publicly stated this. He was merely informed that the reason for his dismissal was his age. Meanwhile, the investigation into Robby continued. On 21 October 1972, about a year after Hoegeng was no longer Kapolri, Robby was finally arrested. He was charged with smuggling that caused state losses of approximately Rp700 million. However, he received only a light sentence of 7.5 years, less than the 10-year demand. After retiring, Hoegeng chose to live a simple life and became more involved in the arts until his death on 14 July 2004.