Police shrug off corruption report

Police shrug off corruption report

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Police have shrugged off a report that declares
it to be the second most corrupt institution in the country,
saying the accusation was without foundation.

Director of the Special Economic Crime unit Brig. Gen. Andi
Chaeruddin said that he could not respond to the results of the
survey because there was no hard evidence to support the claims.

"If someone comes in and gives us a report, bringing along
necessary evidence and several witnesses, as determined in the
Criminal Code (KUHAP), then we can start investigating," Andi
told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

"Without any evidence or testimonials from witnesses -- and
there must be more than one witness -- then why waste our time
with something so obscure?" Andi added.

Transparency International Indonesia (TII) last week unveiled
the results of its latest corruption survey, which named the
police as the second most corrupt institution in the country
after the customs office.

Survey respondents said they had to pay bribes to the police
approximately 12 times a year, with the average amount paid each
time being Rp 1.71 million (US$185).

The result of the TII survey is in line with earlier research
conducted last year by some 147 Police Academy students. The
survey, which took place in 19 regions across the country, found
that corruption is deeply rooted within the institution.

Many examples of corruption were given in the research report
including the "buying and selling" of top positions and ranks in
the police, bribery in the recruitment of new officers, and
corruption in the distribution of supplies and police budgetary
funds.

Other forms of very common corrupt practices committed by
police officers included demanding bribes from motorists
violating traffic regulations, extorting money from people
obtaining driving licenses, and demanding "protection money" from
business people.

In early February this year, the Internal Affairs division at
National Police headquarters discovered that officers from the
West Jakarta police refused to detain an owner of a gambling den
during a raid because the owner had already paid amounts of money
to these officers.

According to sources, the owner of the gambling den had
regularly paid some Rp 3 billion to the West Jakarta police, the
Jakarta police and the National Police every month in order to
protect the illegal operation.

Separately, Director of the Corruption Crime unit Brig.
Indarto said that he would wait for instructions from the chief
of the National Police before following-up on issues raised in
the TII report.

"If Pak Da'i gives the instruction for me to investigate the
case (the TII report) then I will carry it out immediately,"
Indarto told The Post, referring to National Police Chief Da'i
Bachtiar.

Indarto said that so far none of his superiors had given him
instructions, thus, he could not start investigations.

"Even if the chief has given an order, the internal affairs
unit must investigate first, to see if there are any police
officers who have violated the police code of ethics.

"If the unit finds that there is a criminal element in the
case, then Internal Affairs will hand us the case and we'll
continue it from there, just as in Pak Ismoko's case," Indarto
added.

Brig. Gen. Samuel Ismoko was found guilty by a police
disciplinary hearing for committing "undisciplined" acts during
the investigation of the Rp 1.7 trillion Bank Negara Indonesia
(BNI) scam case.

Ismoko is now scheduled to appear in court for allegedly
receiving $20,000 and Rp 500 million in bribes from the main
suspect in the case, Adrian Waworuntu.