Police vow not to drop cases

Police vow not to drop cases

JAKARTA (JP): City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Dibyo Widodo gave
assurances yesterday that no criminal cases would be "frozen", as
many have feared.

Dibyo was responding to concerns that the long interval since
police last made announcements regarding major investigations,
such as the triple murder in Los Angeles, the Danasonic chain
savings scheme and the assault of a businessman by thugs
allegedly hired by a private bank, indicated that the police
meant to drop their enquiries.

"Very often, the police need extra time to investigate
complicated cases," Dibyo said. "We have no intention of freezing
any investigation."

Among dossiers that the police will be handing over to the
prosecutors' office is that regarding a beating of a business
man, reportedly in connection with a loan dispute with the Panin
Bank, Dibyo said.

He said the dossiers on Harnoko Dewantono, alias Oki, 30, who
is suspected of killing two Indonesians and an Indian in Los
Angeles, were almost complete and ready to be transferred to the
prosecutors' office.

"We don't need any further witnesses or evidence," Dibyo said.

Oki was recently sentenced to four years imprisonment for
passport forgery and is serving his term in Cipinang prison.

Dibyo said that police had almost completed their work in
bringing to court executives of Jakarta-based PT Saptamitra
Ekakarya, owner of the controversial Danasonic chain savings
scheme.

"So, it's just a matter of time," he said.

Police believe the firm cheated thousands of people and earned
billions of rupiah in an illegal business.

Amid growing public concern, city police closed down the
operation of the Danasonic arisan savings chain scheme in April,
after three years of operation.

The firm's executives, an elderly couple identified as Sindi
Husain and his wife Anneke Kolondam, respectively commissioner
and president of the firm, were arrested early this month on
suspicion of fraud and forgery.

Within days of the arrest, Dibyo promised that the dossiers on
the two suspects would be handed over to the prosecutors' office
for trial.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. Bambang Permantoro said
yesterday that the Danasonic officials' dossiers were currently
being studied by the prosecutors.

"We'll be informed when they (the prosecutors) have finished
with the dossiers," Bambang said.

Asked about progress in the case of a businessman who claims
to have been kidnapped and beaten by hired thugs, Dibyo said
that, in that matter also, police would soon forward the dossiers
to the prosecutors for trial.

He refused, however, to give further details, saying that
police investigators were still studying all available data.

Businessman Sulaiman Iskandar Ramli, better known as Han Seng,
reported to the police last month that he had been kidnapped and
beaten by a group of 40 people hired by the Panin Bank in
relation to a loan of Rp 3.6 billion (US$1.6 million) he received
from the bank in 1990.

He claimed that the money had actually been borrowed by an
acquaintance of his who worked at the bank, who had later handed
it over to a relative. (bsr)