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.