Two police generals have admitted to accepting bribes in exchange for helping graft convict and ex-fugitive Djoko Soegiarto Tjandra evade capture.
National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Awi Setiyono said Insp. Gen. Napoleon Bonaparte and Brig. Gen. Prasetyo Utomo had confessed to removing Djoko’s red notice status, allowing to freely enter the country and travel within it despite being on law enforcement’s most-wanted list for more than a decade.
“We have interrogated the suspects. They admitted taking the money,” Awi said on Tuesday, as quoted by kompas.com.
However, he declined to reveal the exact amount they accepted in kickbacks.
Awi went on to say that the police continued to look for supporting evidence if the bribes, such as bank transfer receipts or any indication that the funds had been handed over in cash.
The police charged Napoleon and Prasetyo with bribery under the 2001 Corruption Law as well as the Criminal Code (KUHP).
Djoko and businessman Tommy Sumardi were also named suspects for bribing the two police generals. Investigators charged them with bribery under the 2001 Corruption Law, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
However, Napoleon and Tommy have not been arrested. Meanwhile, investigators have apprehended Prasetyo for allegedly issuing forged travel documents that allowed Djoko to travel within the country while he was on the run.
“Both suspects cooperated with investigators, so it’s not necessary to detain them,” Awi said.
Napoleon was removed from his post as the National Police’s international relations division head for his alleged involvement in removing Djoko’s red notice status.
Djoko was convicted in 2009 for his role in the 1998 Bank Bali corruption case. The Supreme Court sentenced him to two years in prison and ordered him to pay Rp 546 billion (US$37,183) in restitution. However, he fled the country a day before his conviction and remained at large for over a decade.
He returned to Indonesia undetected this year and filed a case review plea to challenge his guilty verdict. The police arrested him in Kuala Lumpur on July 30. (rfa)
