Query demanded for police generals accused of graft
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)