Police accused of charging for bomb squad's services

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Police, Jakarta

Despite denials by the police, a number of building managers in the capital said they were forced to pay the police before the bomb squad was sent in to sweep the buildings after receiving bomb threats.

The manager of an office building in Central Jakarta, who asked not to be named, said he had to pay Rp 100,000 (US$10) to each member of the bomb squad that was called in to search the building in response to a threat.

"We called the bomb squad immediately after we received a bomb threat. What irked me was that we were forced on the phone to make a deal on the payment while we were waiting for a bomb to explode. It was like blackmail," he told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

He said he did not mind giving the police a little money, as long as he did not feel like he was being forced to do so.

"It was a bomb we were dealing with, for God's sake. They should deal with that first before asking for money. We are happy to pay them for their services because we know they do not make a lot of money," he said.

While they risk their lives almost every day, officers on the bomb squad earn about Rp 1 million a month.

A manager at a five-star hotel in Jakarta, who asked not to be identified, wondered why the police seemed unable to do anything about people calling in fake bomb threats.

"Our hotel has received fake bomb threats twice. Every time we receive a bomb threat, we alert the police and pay them. We used to be terrified by the bomb threats, but now we know that someone is just playing around. We just wonder why the police cannot arrest the caller?" he told the Post.

According to the police, there have been no arrests for calling in fake bomb threats over the last two years.

The issue of building officials having to pay the bomb squad surfaced last week after the management of French hypermarket Carrefour elected not to inform the police about a bomb threat it received.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani has repeatedly said that the police are not allowed to receive money from the public for their services, including bomb sweeps.

According to data from the city police, there has been at least one bomb threat in Jakarta almost every day since the Australian Embassy bombing that killed 10 people, including the suicide bomber, in South Jakarta last year.

The number of bomb hoaxes jumped following the Bali bombing that killed 22 people and injured more than 130 people on Oct. 2.

Last Tuesday, police said Carrefour refused to contact the police after the hypermarket received a bomb threat.

Carrefour, instead, deployed its internal security officers to sweep the store.

The hypermarket's actions appeared to have upset the police, who announced that they would question Carrefour officials to determine whether the hypermarket violated the law by not contacting the police.

"Although it was only a threat, they should leave bomb sweeps to the police," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana said last week.

He said if there had been an explosion, the hypermarket could have faced criminal charges for negligence resulting in injuries.