Police use dead to cover up problems

Police use dead to cover up problems

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In attempt to wash their hands of a potentially damaging case,
police announced on Thursday that they had closed the
investigation into an alleged plot between security officers and
convict Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra after the probe reached a
dead end.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara revealed
that the case was stopped as the key witness, Wiyono, a retired
Army officer who was also Tommy's accomplice during the latter's
escape from justice had died making it impossible to delve
further into the case.

"That's the final result of our investigation," Makbul told
reporters.

Wiyono reportedly died of a "heart attack" in August 2001 on
his way from the Jakarta Police detention center in Central
Jakarta to Kramatjati Police Hospital in East Jakarta. He was
detained for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition at
Apartemen Cemara in Menteng, Central Jakarta which allegedly
belonged to Tommy.

The case involving security personnel became public following
Tommy's acknowledgement during his trial that he was able to move
freely around the city during his time on the run thanks to the
help of security personnel.

However, after what appeared to be a reluctant attempt to
investigate Tommy's claim, police said that Tommy was only
referring to Wiyono.

"Wiyono is our only source of information and we cannot
question him now that he is dead," Makbul said jokingly.

Makbul added the result would be immediately reported to
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar.

However, legal expert Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan blasted the case
closure as an attempt by the police to wash their hands of the
case by shifting all blame to the deceased.

"It is now a new trend here that blame is shifted to the
deceased, in addition to defendants feigning illness," said
Luhut.

Luhut alluded to a similar ploy used in a graft case
implicating House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung in
which a deceased taxi driver, named Dadi Suryadi took the brunt
of the blame in the misuse of the Rp 40 billion fund belonging to
State Logistics Agency (Bulog).

However, all measures, Luhut said, boiled down to the same
thing, that is, dropping crucial cases for absurd reasons.

Luhut warned that such a ploy would only increase public
suspicion that the police were colluding with Tommy.

"The case will show to the public that the police's vow to
reform themselves was only empty words," he asserted, adding that
the case would only further tarnish their already tattered image.

Police seen to be uncomfortable about settling cases
implicating their officers, especially senior officers. The
latest case is the smuggling of luxury cars into the country
implicating former Jakarta Police chief Comr. Gen. Sofjan Jacoeb.

Sofjan has been accused of smuggling 11 Mercedes Benz sedans
from Singapore into the country at the end his tenure as South
Sulawesi Police chief in 2001. It has been two months, but police
have yet to report any progress in the investigation into the
case.