More detainees escape police cell

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Just three days after seven detainees escaped from the Bojong Gede police detention center, three detainees broke out of the East Jakarta police detention center shortly before noon on Wednesday by sawing through the bars of their cell.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said on Wednesday that officers quickly launched a manhunt for the three after they discovered at 12 p.m. that the cell was empty.

"They sawed through the bars and made good their escape. We found several pieces of evidence in the cell. We hope we can recapture them as soon as possible," said Tjiptono.

The three fugitives had been detained earlier for traffic violations in a number of different locations in East Jakarta.

A source at Jakarta Police Headquarters said that two internal affairs officers had visited the East Jakarta Police Headquarters to investigate whether the escape was due to negligence on the part of officers.

"It would have been impossible for the detainees to escape if the guards had checked the cell every two hours as required. They would have seen them sawing through the bars if they had been doing their jobs," he told The Jakarta Post.

The internal affairs division is also investigating the Bojong Gede sub-precinct police chief and several of his officers over the escape of seven detainees from the local detention center on Sunday.

The seven, detained for theft and illegal mining offenses, broke out of the detention center early on Sunday morning through a hole they had been digging for several days using spoons and forks.

Police had recaptured three of them by Wednesday.

Tjiptono said the Bojong Gede officers had been negligent and that the sub-precinct police chief, Adj. Comr. Haryono, had to be held responsible.

On Tuesday, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said that Haryono could be removed from his post, transferred to another post or face a disciplinary hearing if enough incriminating evidence was found.

Another police source said that internal affairs had proposed to Firman that Haryono be removed from his job as they had found evidence that he had not been supervising his subordinates properly.

"The Bojong Gede police chief signed the detainees' attendance list right before the escape. How could he have signed the list without checking on the detainees?" the source said.

He added that a failure to punish negligent officers would set a bad example for other officers, and lead them to believe that they could get away with their mistakes.

"The incident in the East Jakarta precinct shows that the Bojong Gede escape hasn't taught them a lesson as no punishments were imposed on the guilty officers there," he said.

Meanwhile, the chief of the Jakarta Police's logistics unit, Sr. Comr. Bambang Kuncoko, said that around 55 percent of the 103 sub-precinct buildings in Greater Jakarta were not adequate for use as detention centers, or command centers for that matter, as they were too old or lacked sturdy bars in their cells.

"Many of the sub-precinct buildings were built over thirty years ago. They badly need renovation. We are still evaluating the possibility of renovating the buildings given that it will cost us Rp 2 million for each meter renovated," said Bambang.

Several officers said that deteriorating buildings had contributed to the recent series of escapes.