Prosecutors must take tests for guns

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Prosecutors who wish to be armed will not receive any special treatment when applying for gun licenses, despite the attorney general's recent request, according to Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani.

Firman said that prosecutors, like anyone else wanting a permit, would have to undergo the standard battery of tests to determine whether or not they are psychologically suited to carrying a weapon.

"The selection won't be done on an institutional basis, even for the Attorney General's Office," said Firman.

Earlier in the week, Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh -- prompted by Saturday's shooting of a guard at the house of a deputy attorney general handling corruption cases -- said he would ask the National Police to give special treatment to prosecutors applying for gun permits.

Although the National Police officially issue gun permits, they only issue them based on recommendations from the police station in the vicinity of the applicant's residence.

Abdul Rahman stressed that his office did not want to arm all of its roughly 5,800 prosecutors, but just those working on corruption cases, who were the most at risk.

In May of last year a prosecutor dealing with corruption cases was gunned down in Central Sulawesi. Last December, the house of the chief prosecutor of Bengkulu province was burned down. Police suspect arson in relation to the prosecutor's investigation of a Rp 17 billion corruption case.

Last Saturday, a 49-year-old guard was shot and wounded at the home of the deputy attorney general in charge of special crimes, Sudhono Iswahyudi, in Kebayoran Lama, which is next door to the South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office.

The police have said that the motive for the shooting was not to terrorize Sudhono -- who was not home at the time -- but that it was purely a robbery attempt. According to Antara, police already know the whereabouts of the two suspected robbers and will arrest them shortly.

Firman agreed that prosecutors be armed, particularly because they are vulnerable to acts of violence. However, he said due to recent cases, police could not afford to be lax in issuing gun licenses.

In February, a city public order officer, Krisman Siregar -- without provocation -- shot dead a 28-year-old man guarding a disputed parcel of land. Last August, comedian Parto fired a shot into the air in a restaurant lobby because reporters were swarming around him. Both were licensed to own and use a gun by the police.

According to police records, nationwide there are 34,150 licensed civilian gun holders. Police also estimate that there are around 100,000 unlicensed firearms circulating in the Greater Jakarta area alone.