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.