Police officers accused of selling evidence

Police officers accused of selling evidence

JAKARTA (JP): A businesswoman accused members of the city
police economic detective unit of allegedly selling 7.32 tons of
garlic they confiscated from her last year.

The owner of the garlic, Setia Arba Sibarani, 43, went to the
city police headquarters on Monday to file a complaint against
the officers, but nobody was willing to receive her.

The identity of the officers involved in the sale of the
garlic remains unknown, but Setia, a spice vendor at Senen market
in Central Jakarta, said one of the unit's members, identified
only as Maj. YL, was deeply involved in the case.

Chief of the economic detective unit Lt. Col. Usman Nasution,
however, strongly denied that his officers were involved in the
sale of the confiscated garlic.

"We have followed all the standard procedures in this case. As
far as I'm concerned, none of the officers are involved," Usman
said.

Setia disagreed, saying that: "The police seized the garlic
from my warehouse at Senen market in a raid on Nov. 20 conducted
on the grounds that I did not have the correct documents for the
bulbs. I was accused of being involved in illegal garlic
transactions".

She was confused, she said, because garlic transactions were
common occurrences, especially among Senen market's spice
vendors, who make transactions of this sort every day without
having to produce any documentation.

"I was overwhelmed during the raid. When I asked the officers
if they had a warrant letter they replied by firing six shots
into the air with their guns. They refused to show me the warrant
letter," Setia explained.

On that same day, officers removed the garlic, which was
packed in 141 sacks, declared Setia a suspected illegal garlic
dealer, and detained her from Nov. 21, to Dec. 10, last year. She
was released on Rp 23.5 million bail on Dec. 11, 1997.

Her husband, Gompar Manurung, urged police to retain the
garlic in the form of money obtained from its sale, rather than
keeping the bulbs, which he feared would rot in custody. His
request was rejected.

Earlier this month, Setia received a call from a woman named
Lely, who claimed that she bought part of the confiscated garlic
from police officers on the day following the raid.

"She promised to give me back the garlic in the form of money
because she had already sold most of it," Setia told reporters.

On April 3, 1998, Setia met Lely, who was accompanied by Maj.
YL and another officer, identified as AP, at Atrium Plaza,
Central Jakarta. The three people agreed to repay Rp 27 million
to Setia in compensation for the garlic confiscated during last
year's raid.

However, Lely has not yet handed over the promised money and
the remaining garlic has reportedly rotted due to poor storage.

"Five tons of the seized garlic was reportedly burned by
police officers on the orders of Central Jakarta District Court,
as stated in court order No. 1557/Pen.Pid/ PN.JKT.PST.," she
said.

Lely allegedly informed Setia that the garlic was not in fact
burned and that police officers had falsified the court burning
order, Setia said.

The police told her that they were allowed to burn evidence in
special cases involving perishable goods, provided that they
informed the district court of their intentions in writing and
received a legal blessing for their actions, she said.

"I've checked with Central Jakarta District Court to verify
this, but they said they never issued that kind of order," she
added.

The officers allegedly set fire to a pile of refuse, not my
garlic bulbs, Setia said.

Lely admitted to having earned Rp 20 million from sale of the
garlic and said that part of the proceeds had been passed on to
other parties involved in the sale of the pungent bulbs.

"Lely said she had given Rp 5 million to Maj. YL, Rp 2 million
to a prosecutor involved in the case, Rp 2 million to quarantine
officers and used Rp 1 million to purchase garbage used to fake
the incineration.

"When I tried to collect the money, Lely just said: 'Sorry my
money is finished because I had to pay those officers'," Setia
said.

"All I want is for the police to explain my arrest and why
they sold the evidence," she added.

Usman said the police had summoned Lely for questioning about
her involvement in the case. She is due to be questioned today.

"Let's keep an open mind about this," he added.

City Police spokesman Lt. Col. Aritonang refused to comment on
the matter. "I'll have to check this," he said. (edt)