Lawyer calls for rewards for drug-case informants

JAKARTA (JP): A noted lawyer called on the government yesterday to issue a law that required authorities to reward people who tipped off the police in drugs-related crimes.

The existing law needed to be detailed in a separate regulation and should be issued soon, Amir Syamsuddin told a one- day discussion on the 1997 Psychotropic Law Number 5.

According to the veteran lawyer, Article 48 of the new Psychotropic Law did not insist the government had to give rewards.

"That's why it needs another supported rule which orders the government to give rewards, preferably money, to the informers," said Amir.

By doing so, people would be encouraged to help the authorities in the fight against drug abuse and the misuse of psychotropic substances, particularly Ecstasy, by the city's teenagers, he said.

Amir said the current law which protected the identities of the people who delivered tips to police was not sufficient to encourage people to come forward with information.

"Giving rewards, which could be in the form of medals, certificates, or money, will further encourage people to pass on information," he said.

According to the lawyer, the current law which protects informers' identities provides enough protection for people to give information to police officers.

"Article 66 of the psychotropic law stipulates that anyone, including witnesses, who discloses information on informers' faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison," Amir said.

He, therefore, urged people not to hesitate or be afraid to report drug abuse to the police because the law guaranteed their lives from possible revenge plotted by drugs syndicates.

However, reporting drugs-related cases to police is an uneasy task for some people, particularly if their relatives are involved.

Martha Sugiarto, a mother of two teenagers who was at the discussion venue yesterday, said that if one of her sons was involved in a drugs case she would probably take him to a doctor and keep it a secret.

"I know that, under the law, I must report any drug abuse that happens in my surroundings. But how could you, as a mother, report your own son to the police and watch him spend part of his life in jail?" she asked.

Amir said the law stipulated that one's neglect or failure to report information on illegal drug-related activities was risking a maximum sentence of one year's imprisonment and/or a Rp 20 million (US$ 7,547) fine.

According to Article 59, people who found guilty of taking psychotropic drugs face a minimum of four years in prison and a Rp 150 million fine as well. The maximum penalty is 15 years in jail.

Some students from the privately run Gunadarma college who participated in yesterday's discussion supported the law but questioned the indiscriminate minimum penalty.

They said the penalty should be less for first-time users or those who took the drugs without their consent or under intimidation.

"A four-year imprisonment term for first time consumers, especially if they are only teenagers who have a poor knowledge about drugs, is not fair. On the contrary, it's also funny if the judge only sentences a regular user or dealer to four years imprisonment," said the students.

However, a first year student of the private-run Triguna high school in South Jakarta, Novan, gave his full support to the minimum penalty for any drug users.

"Well, don't take the drugs if you don't want to take the risk," he said. (cst)