Officers quizzed over dumped meat case

Jakarta Police are still investigating the involvement of two police officers in the dumping of meat at Bantar Gebang dump in Bekasi municipality.

"Internal affairs are questioning them to find out who gave the order to escort the rotten meat to the dump. If they are found guilty, we will punish them," Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said on Monday at City Hall after attending the swearing in ceremony of City Council speaker Ade Surapriatna.

Two policemen were reported for escorting six container trucks loaded with a total of 18 tons of rotten meat from the Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta early on Saturday.

The City Sanitation Agency official in charge of Bantar Gebang dump, Amir Sagala, said the policemen forced security guards at the dump to open the gate for the trucks.

"The agency was not contacted by any party on the disposal of the rotten meat which took place late at night," he said.

Of the six container trucks, only two managed to unload.

Eleven scavengers are suffering from food poisoning after eating some of the meat, Amir said. Three of them were taken to a public health center for treatment.

Bantar Gebang Police have confiscated three vans loaded with meat, ready for resale. However, reports said that more vans loaded with the meat had already left the site.

Head of a team in charge of destroying the confiscated meat at Tanjung Priok Port, HMP Hutasoit, acknowledged that the meat had been seized at the port because it was imported illegally.

He said that the team decided to dump the meat at Bantar Gebang since the meat incinerating facility owned by the Animal Quarantine Center in Rawa Banteng, Bekasi, was unable to destroy such a massive amount. -- JP