Query demanded for police generals accused of graft
JAKARTA (JP): Inspector general of the Ministry of Defense Lt. Gen. Suharto has requested intensive questioning of three police generals, allegedly implicated in mismanagement of the National Police's 1999 to 2000 Crash Funding Program, it was reported on Wednesday.
The request was made in a recent top priority report following the ministry's investigation. The report was addressed to Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono.
The authenticity of the report was confirmed by National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Dadang Garnida after he contacted the ministry's inspectorate general.
"A more intensive interrogation must be made of former chief of National Police headquarters Gen. Roesmanhadi, the former National Police chief's assistant for planning Maj. Gen. Adang Daradjatun and chief of the treasury agency Brig. Gen. Darmadji S.W.," Suharto stated in the report.
"We must check how deep is their involvement in the stated corruption cases."
Dated Feb. 28 this year, the report stated the investigation lasted from Feb. 3 to Feb. 18.
"The management of the crash funding program was not conducted as it should have been. Wrongdoing was committed, following pressure from the (former) chief of National Police Headquarters, which was strongly supported by the (former) National Police chief's assistant for planning and chief of the treasury agency".
The report further stated that the National Police failed to properly manage the funds in a way which was publicly accountable.
The funds, it said, worth Rp 300.77 billion (US$40.1 million), were obtained "straight from members of the public who applied for their driving licenses".
"The mismanagement of the crash funding program has caused the state to suffer a loss of at least Rp 5.2 billion, due to among other things, the purchase of 100 Timor sedans at marked-up prices, as well as unpaid taxes worth Rp 4.1 billion by PT Catur Gatra Eka Perkasa (CGEP), PT Sarana Krismaslindho and PT Sri Rejeki Isman."
The statement referred to the National Police's purchase of Timor sedans, which were bought without invoices from car companies PT CGEP and PT Sarana Krismaslindho.
The alleged wrongdoing was first revealed last year by car company PT Timor Putra National (TPN), the initial distributor of Timor sedans.
The report recommends that the Ministry of Defense take three main actions.
The first is to instruct the current National Police chief to make efforts to compensate the state for losses of Rp 5.2 billion, caused due to the markups of the purchase of sedans and unpaid taxes by certain car companies.
The second is to instruct the National Police chief to make changes in the management of the funds.
The third is to at least apply administrative punishments to a number of high-ranking police officers who are strongly suspected of backing up corruption practices within the National Police.
Most importantly, it requested the Ministry of Defense guide the National Police chief in restoring the names of at least six high-ranking police officers, who helped divulge the corruption within the National Police, and were reportedly punished by Roesmanhadi as a result.
The officers were identified as former logistics director Brig. Gen. Bambang Susetyo, former deputy chief of the electronics communication unit Col. De Friets, Col. Y. Ponto and Lt. Col. Djamaluddin, both former officers in the logistics division, and Maj. Aris Munandar and Capt. Kumbul, former investigators in the city police detectives unit.(ylt)