Police lieutenant main suspect in Tjetje's death

Police lieutenant main suspect in Tjetje's death

BANDUNG (JP): West Java Police Chief Maj. Gen. Nana Permana
yesterday officially declared the Bogor police's chief detective,
First Lt. DT, was the suspect in the death of a robbery suspect
while in Bogor police custody.

The statement ended speculation over whether Tjetje Tadjudin
(not Cece Tajudin as earlier reported) was tortured while in
police custody.

Nana, who was in Sukabumi regency, 93km west of Bandung, said
Lt. DT was in police detention and a special team had been set up
to investigate the case.

The spokesman for West Java's Siliwangi Military Command, Lt.
Col. Herman Ibrahim, said Army members were on the investigative
team. Herman refused to comment further on Tjetje's death.

Nana also said two sergeants were being questioned over
Tjetje's death. "But we have not yet found evidence of their
involvement," he said.

The two sergeants told the investigative team they saw Lt. DT.
interrogating Tjetje and his friend Norman, Nana said.

Nana acknowledged that preliminary examinations and a
postmortem indicated Tjetje, a 42-year-old father of three, did
not commit suicide and did not die from a serious illness.
"Therefore, there must be people who got involved in the beating.
And field investigations strongly indicate that Lt. DT, is the
likely suspect," Nana said.

"The suspect is the man most responsible for the safety and
security of Tjetje in custody. Tjetje's death proves that there
are police officers who are still lacking professionalism," Nana
said. "This case is a bitter lesson for us."

However, he did not believe his subordinate(s) had intended to
kill the suspect.

Key witness

Tjetje was expected to be a key witness in the fatal robbery
on the Jagorawi toll road which claimed the life of his friend
Zaenuddin Lesmana on Oct. 11.

Tjetje and Norman Lubis were passengers in Zaenuddin's Hyundai
Elantra sedan which was intercepted by a Kijang van carrying
three people. The three unidentified men got out of the van and
fired at Zaenuddin's car's rear windshield..

The Hyundai's driver, Zaenuddin, was killed while Tjetje and
Norman escaped unhurt. The robbers made off with some of the
money in Zaenuddin's car but left Rp 300 million.

Zaenuddin had just withdrawn the money from a BRI bank branch
in Bogor. The money belonged to his employer.

Tjetje and Norman were later arrested by Bogor police who
believed they were the robbers' accomplices.

On Monday, Bogor Regency Police Chief Col. Dadang Garnida
announced Tjetje died on the way to the PMI hospital from a
respiratory problem.

Various officials have made conflicting statements about
Tjetje's death. Tjetje worked at the state-owned housing company
Perum Perumnas.

Police who handed Tjetje's body to his relatives for burial
said Tjetje, 42, died from a serious illness he already had.
Tjetje's relatives strongly rejected this.

The chief of Bogor Regency Military Command, Col. Eddi
Budianto, said there were procedural errors in Tjetje's
interrogation. "Investigators had been too coercive in making the
suspect admit something," Eddi was quoted by Pos Kota as saying
on Thursday.

The head of the National Police Crime Investigation
Directorate, Brig. Gen. Rusdihardjo, said on Wednesday during an
Interpol meeting in Antalya, Turkey, that Tjetje might have been
brutally battered while in police custody.

Unofficial reports said Tjetje and Norman were also
interrogated by military police. Nana acknowledged this, but
refused to reveal if the two were tortured by military police
officers. "What I know is the suspects were questioned over the
possible involvement of Armed Forces' members in the robbery,"
Nana said.

Norman is still in the Bogor police lockup and Nana has
instructed subordinates to protect him properly as he is the only
witness to the robbery. (17/sur/21)

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