Police probe shooting between officers

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Authorities are currently probing an alleged shooting incident between officers from the National Police headquarters and National Police internal affairs during a raid at a gambling house in Taman Palem, West Jakarta last week.

Chief of National Police internal affairs division Insp. Gen. Supriyadi said on Sunday that the division had questioned several police officers from the city police but suspected only one had tried to protect the gambling house.

"We are still probing the case. We are questioning intensively one officer from the city police for protecting a gambling house following the incident," said Supriyadi.

A police source at the National Headquarters said on Sunday that a police officer identified as Adj. Comr. S, who was assigned to lead city police officers in the raid last Wednesday evening, had been questioned and detained for two days by the internal affairs following the raid of the gambling house.

He said that although S was released after two days of interrogation, he remained under investigation.

A team from the city police conducted a raid in a gambling house in Taman Palem last Wednesday evening, where they met with police officers from the National Police.

"Nothing happened in the beginning as although the two teams had no prior coordination, they could share duties," the source said.

However, instead of directly arresting the owner of the gambling house, identified as Iwan K., and dozens of gamblers in the house, several officers came and talked with him in his office, said the source.

He said while Iwan and the officers were talking, another team from the National Police internal affairs arrived and saw the detectives talking with Iwan, whom they were supposed to nab.

Apparently feeling intimidated and humiliated by the presence of the internal affairs team, several officers from the National Police drew their guns and started firing into the air.

Officers from the internal affairs responded by firing their guns into the air as well, suggesting that they were not intimidated and ready to fight.

The incident didn't escalate into an open fight as both parties managed to keep their cool, the source said.

"Probably somebody had called the internal affairs division after seeing the city police officers discussing something with Iwan instead of arresting him," he said.

It is rumored that the Taman Palem gambling house hands over billions of rupiah to the city police and National Police every month to protect their operation.

West Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Suhardi Alusius said Iwan K and all the gamblers in the house had been detained.

"We arrested 169 people at the site, but detained only 34 of them, including Iwan K because we have evidence to charge them under Article 303 of the Criminal Code," Suhardi told The Jakarta Post.

He denied that there had been shooting during the raid, saying that his subordinates had not reported it.