Two detained over jail escapee

BOGOR (JP): Two Bogor prison officers, who were arrested Saturday, were still being interrogated yesterday following the escape of a defendant in the Jagorawi toll road murder and robbery case Friday afternoon.

Another officer, in charge of administration at Paledang Prison, could be arrested, Bogor Police Chief Col. Dadang Garnida said yesterday.

The officers being interrogated were prison guard Deni Juliandi, who allegedly forged a signature from the Prosecutor's Office to allow the defendant Erling Doly Wijaya alias Mikel out of prison, and his alleged accomplice, R. Priyatna.

Paledang Prison chief, Moelyawan, also found that on June 18, June 21, and June 24, Mikel was removed from prison when there was no hearing, but was brought back again.

"There is something deliberate here (in the involvement of officers)," Police Chief Dadang said. "We'll see after the investigation," he said in response to whether the prison chief or Prosecutor's Office staff may have been involved.

He said the report of the escape Friday night came too late. "Mikel could be anywhere after five or six hours on the run," Dadang said.

Because of the escape, a trial scheduled yesterday to hear the prosecutor's sentence demand was postponed a week. Mikel was one of two defendants charged in the death of a treasurer, Zaenuddin Lesmana, in which Rp 312 million (US$127,346) in cash was allegedly stolen from Zaenuddin's car on the Jagorawi toll road in October 1996.

The escape and earlier attempts came to light Friday afternoon when officials found that, despite a notice from the Prosecutor's Office allowing Mikel out of prison for a hearing, there was no scheduled hearing for that day.

Moelyawan said he had allowed Mikel to be brought out because there was a prison notice signed by the head of the general crime section at the Cibinong Prosecutors' Office, Bambang Wahyudi.

Bambang said interrogations revealed that his signature was forged by the guard, Deni, and that Mikel was brought to a hotel in the nearby Cisarua mountain area.

Antara quoted sources saying the defendant arrived at the hotel at 10 a.m. with four people, including two women and two men in uniforms from the Prosecutors' Office.

A hotel employee said a request from one of the women to book room no. 1 for a few hours was turned down, because it was already occupied. The employee said the five guests then chatted and had a few drinks in the lobby on the second floor.

The five people then left in a black Suzuki vehicle, and one of the uniformed men, who looked drunk, was being helped by another of the group, the employee said. A short while later some officers from the Prosecutor's Office arrived and looked surprised when they were told the group had left. (24/anr)