'Prosecutors not involved in suspect's escape: Police

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara announced on Wednesday that the police had exonerated three prosecutors after an investigation into their suspected involvement in the foiled escape attempt of murder suspect Gunawan Santosa.

"The North Jakarta prosecutors have been found not to have been involved in the escape attempt," he said.

Previously, the city police declared the three as suspects for dereliction of duty when escorting Gunawan on March 30 on the way from Salemba prison to the North Jakarta District Court, where he was standing trial for the murder of PT Arena Sarana Bakti boss Boedyharto Angsono, who was also his former father-in-law.

Later during the press conference, Makbul said the police had declared three other people as suspects in the escape attempt -- Yoris and Mamat, inmates of the penitentiary, and Yudi, an ex- convict who was to have arranged Gunawan's flight to freedom if the escape attempt had succeeded.

As for the smuggling of the .32 mm caliber Beretta pistol into the penitentiary, the city police have declared another three people as suspects -- Harun alias Haris, who illegally sold the gun for Rp 11 million (US$1,300); Ubay, who acted as the middlemen between Harun and Gunawan; and Gunawan's mother Mulyati Santosa, who helped Gunawan smuggle the pistol inside a speaker.

"Gunawan, through an as yet unidentified party, delivered the loud speaker to his mother's house, saying that the speaker was out-of-order and he needed to be repaired. His mother later secreted the pistol inside the speaker," Makbul added.

He said that he did not know how the speaker could have so easily been taken in and out of Gunawan's prison cell. -- JP