Police officers in hot seat over TV reality show
Police officers in hot seat over TV reality show
Evi Mariani, Jakarta
The Jakarta Police Professional Ethics Board has decided to make
a formal recommendation to Chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara
requesting him to dismiss First Insp. Sunarjo, the head of a unit
based in Kebon Jeruk, over the latter's involvement in a crude
Candid Camera-like show aired by RCTI on May 26.
The board also recommended that Kebon Jeruk Police deputy
chief Adj. Comr. Hermino be transferred out. Hermino's wife, who
was waiting outside the hearing room, screamed and cried after
the board's decision.
Kebon Jeruk Police chief Comr. Ahmad Alwi was found not guilty
in the ethics trial. However, he still must be investigated in
another hearing to determine any disciplinary sanctions he may be
given.
The board found Sunarjo, 47, guilty for his role in
orchestrating the plot in Membikin Orang Panik (MOP, meaning
making others panic) in conjunction with the program's crew from
the production house PT Avicom.
In front of the board, Sunarjo, admitted to helping the Avicom
crew to "arrest" Piko, a university student, by framing him on
charges of marijuana and knife possession.
He said he had told his superior, Hermino, about the made-for-
TV arrest and approval was obtained.
"The deputy chief said it was OK to help the crew as long as
it would not tarnish the image of the police force," said
Sunarjo.
Later, Sunarjo ordered five of his men at the station to take
roles in the plot filmed on March 3.
Three of the subordinates -- Brig. Yudi Heri, Brig. Supriyono,
and Adj. Brig. Sugiyanto -- were told to act as patrolling
policemen. They were supposed to stop and search Piko's car in a
fabricated raid. The officers had already planted the marijuana
and knife in Piko's bag, with the assistance of Piko's friend,
Adi.
The police then arrested Piko and one of his friends and
hauled them off to the station house for questioning.
The officers then handed over the two "suspects" to Sunarjo,
who had ordered Brig. Dedi Aryanto and Brig. Riyanto to act as
interrogators.
Dedi and Riyanto testified to the Board that the show's
production manager, Reno Sarah, told them to "scare Piko to
death".
"Mbak Sarah told us to scare the 'suspects'. She said 'strip
him if necessary'," Riyanto defended his role, in which he
ordered Piko to take off his shirt and pants.
Apparently taking into account the principle of command
responsibility and that the five policemen were dutifully
following their superiors' orders, the board decided that Yudi,
Supriyono and Sugiyanto were not guilty while Dedi and Riyanto
were ordered to participate in a professional ethics training
course.
The RCTI program manager, Arief Suditomo, who attended the
trial as a witness, said RCTI had suspended its five reality show
programs indefinitely.
"The main reason is regular reprogramming. We want to fill in
the slot currently allotted for reality shows with other programs
that have higher ratings. For the time being, the shows will stay
in our library until we can find a suitable slot for them," he
announced to the public.
Arief and RCTI public relations officer Teguh Juwarno deeply
regretted the incident, saying the case had taught them a
valuable lesson to be more careful in selecting programs.