House speaker says Susno could face more severe punishment

Hans David Tampubolon ,  The Jakarta Post   |  Tue, 11/03/2009 1:18 PM  |  National

House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie says that National Police detective chief Comr. Gen. Susno Duaji should be handed more severe punishment than civilians should he be proven guilty of power abuse in the ongoing stand-off between the police and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

"However, a solid proof of him perpetrating a crime is also needed," Marzuki told reporters on Tuesday.

According to Marzuki, Susno's status as a law enforcer was the reason for him to receive harsher punishment and that suspending him from his post was not enough.

The stand-off started when the KPK wire tapped Susno during a phone conversation which led to the suspicion that he received bribes in the Bank Century fraud scandal.

In response to the wiretapping, Susno then famously said "Does a house lizard has what it takes to take on a crocodile?" Many deem that Susno was referring to the KPK as the much weaker lizard and the police corps. as the much stronger crocodile.

Due to the sensitivity of the matter, National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri apologized publicly for Susno’s statement.

The conflict has escalated since then and peaked when the police arrested KPK deputy chairmen Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto last week.

However, before the arrest was made, a transcript of a tape recording on an alleged plot to frame Chandra and Bibit involving the police and the Attorney Generals' Office (AGO) circulated in the media.

The recording is being heard for the first time in the Constitutional Court today.

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