Policemen to be tried by military tribunal for robbery in Glodok

JAKARTA (JP): Three of five police officers accused of being involved in a robbery have been transferred by city police to the city military police for further legal processing, an officer said over the weekend.

The three officers, identified as Wakidjo, Ukat and Suryadi, were transferred between Aug. 30 and Sept. 7, he said.

"They will be sent to the military tribunal as soon as possible because of their misconduct," the officer, who asked not to be named, told The Jakarta Post.

City military police are still waiting for the other two suspects, who are currently being questioned at city police headquarters, he added.

The military tribunal investigation will start as soon as the questioning of the remaining suspects is completed.

Residents of a Glodok business center in West Jakarta arrested the six men for allegedly burglarizing a house in the area last month. Five of them were later discovered to be officers of the city police.

The six suspects reportedly came to the house in a car and entered the house by jumping the fence and breaking through an upstairs door.

Residents who saw the incident caught the men and took them to the West Jakarta military office.

City military chief Maj. Gen. Wiranto asked recently that city military police take stern action against members of the Armed Forces (ABRI), who are involved in a crime.

"I have asked the military police not to wait for their superiors' orders in taking action against officers who are tarnishing the name of ABRI," he disclosed.

He insisted that the Military Criminal Code and the Military Discipline Code must be consistently enforced.

The five suspects could be fired from the police force if they are found guilty. (29)