TNI personnel commit more violent crimes

TNI personnel commit more violent crimes

Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau

Crimes and misdemeanors committed by Indonesian Military (TNI)
personnel in Riau dropped slightly from 120 cases in 2002 to 117
cases in 2003, a senior military officer said.

But, although the number of offenses had declined, they had
become more serious in nature, the commander of the I/5 Pekanbaru
Military Police Detachment, Lt. Col. Soebandi said on Tuesday in
Pekanbaru.

According to Soebandi, of the 117 crimes and misdemeanors in
2003, 60 percent were committed by Army personnel, around 35
percent by the Navy and the remainder by Air Force personnel.

"In the previous years, for example, vehicle thefts were not
usually accompanied by violence. But, last year, there were more
cases of armed robbery," he said, without providing statistics.

He said that desertion was the most common misdemeanor.

Of the 117 cases handled by the court-martial in Padang and
Medan, 113 cases had been solved, in which three Army personnel
had been discharged from their units, said Soebandi.

"Usually, those who commit desertion are from combat
battalions. One of the (three) men deserted his duty because he
was afraid of being posted to a conflict area, such as Aceh," he
said.

Of the offenses committed by Army personnel, vehicle theft
topped the list, followed by armed robbery and desertion.

He added that the Military Police also investigated cases that
were perpetrated by military personnel.

"There was only one such case in 2003, when a fight between
the Army's artillery unit and the police Mobile Brigade in Dumai,
Riau, broke out," he said.

Airforce personnel had a relatively crime-free year in 2003,
with only traffic offenses recorded.

He also said that 70 percent of criminal and desertion cases
were committed by non-commissioned officers, 20 percent by petty
officers and 10 percent by officers.

He explained that legal cases involving military personnel in
Riau were handled by court-martial in the West Sumatra capital of
Padang, or in the North Sumatra capital of Medan, as a court-
martial had not yet been established in Pekanbaru.

Soebandi hoped that in 2004, the TNI would establish a court-
martial in Riau so that the cases could be processed more
efficiently.

"At this time, every case has to be submitted to Padang or
Medan. This has burdened us financially and slowed down the
judicial process," he said.