Police urged to grow vegetables

Police urged to grow vegetables

JAKARTA: Cash-strapped police shaking down citizens for some
of the green stuff is part of daily life in Indonesia. To reel
back graft, a police chief wants his officers to develop green
thumbs instead.

Bogor Police Col. Anton Bachrul Alam said over the weekend he
was encouraging officers to grow tomatoes, lettuce and flowers at
home to supplement their often meager income.

"Their official wages are barely enough to live on. It's
better than extorting people or taking bribes," he said.

Anton said a hydrophonics expert would teach officers and
their family to grow plants using nutrient solutions rather than
soil, making them easier to harvest. A police cooperative will
help them sell their crops, he said.

Bogor has about 3,000 policemen who earn on average one
million rupiah (US$111) per month.

Security forces are notorious for petty graft, running illegal
enterprises and taking bribes from drug smugglers and gambling
operators. -- AP