Police general faces bribe charge
Police general faces bribe charge
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Director of the National Police economic crimes division Brig.
Gen. Samuel Ismoko will soon be questioned for allegedly taking a
bribe worth US$20,000 to allow Adrian Waworuntu, one of key
suspects in the Rp 1.7 trillion (US$185 million) Bank Negara
Indonesia (BNI) scandal, to escape.
Chief of the internal affairs division Insp. Gen. Supriyadi
said Thursday that Ismoko, who is also chief investigator in the
Rp 1.7 trillion (US$185 million) scandal, must explain whether or
not he took a bribe to help Adrian evade police arrest.
"We will question him after his we speak with his
subordinates. We have already scheduled a time for it," said
Supriyadi.
Seven of Ismoko's subordinates are undergoing questioning by
the internal affairs division.
Quoting Petindo Group director Rudy Sutopo, also a suspect in
the scandal, some media outlets reported on Thursday that Ismoko
received $20,000 (Rp 183 million) from Adrian in December before
the police officer made an official trip to Thailand.
Adrian was released from police detention in March and
declared a fugitive on Oct. 1.
Rudy, who is awaiting trial while in detention at Cipinang
prison in East Jakarta, said Adrian, a director of the Gramarindo
Group, borrowed money from him to give "pocket allowance" to
Ismoko.
He also said that all investigators in the economic crimes
division received between Rp 25 million and Rp 50 million each
depending on their ranks.
The scandal centered around the issuance of letters of credits
to withdraw money from BNI's Kebayoran Baru branch. The letters
of credit turned out to be fake, causing the state bank to suffer
losses worth Rp 1.7 trillion. The money went to several
companies, including the Gramarindo and Petindo Groups.
Police named a total of 16 suspects in the case. The prime
suspect, Indonesian-born Dutch woman Maria Lumowa, is still at
large.
Ismoko, in a press conference held on Thursday evening, denied
the allegation, saying that his office paid all of his expenses
for his trip to Thailand.
Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Paiman said police would question
Rudy and give him a chance to confirm his accusations.
"We will speak with him soon to verify his statement. He
doesn't have to be afraid as we will protect him," said Paiman.
Adrian's escape has made headlines nationwide in the last
several weeks and most people seem to believe that it would have
been impossible for Adrian to escape if the police had not been
abetting him.
It is now incumbent upon the police to produce Adrian to the
prosecutor's office as soon as possible for trial.
A police spokesman said earlier that Adrian "might have fled
the country using different name" because the travel ban on him
was still effective when he was released from detention in March.
The police have offered a Rp 1 billion reward for information
leading to Adrian's arrest.
The alleged bribery and the escape of Adrian have added to
police's negative reputation among the public.
Aside from the BNI case, the police have still not finished
several dossiers for other major corruption cases over the last
two years, including the Rp 20 trillion Account No. 502 scandal,
the Rp 2 trillion BDB and Asiatic bank scandals and the Rp 900
billion Bulog corruption case.
Another case that further tarnished the police's image was the
alleged partiality of top officers during the elections indicated
by the VCD case involving Banyumas police chief Sr. Comr. Andi
Mapparesa, who spoke in May in front of police family members
urging them to vote for President Megawati Soekarnoputri in the
election.