And time and time again, these cases are described as the "tip of the iceberg" - merely the visible part of the massive network of endemic corruption entrenched in Indonesia's institutions.

The current case revolves around an alleged plot by the National Police to imprison suspended Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputies Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah after the antigraft body launched an investigation into the Bank Century scandal, in which National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji was implicated.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who this week has come under increasing pressure to act, has vowed to respond by Monday to recommendations by the fact-finding team he established to clarify the controversies surrounding the KPK-National Police saga.

The details that have emerged have convinced many that the plot was a deliberate systematic effort to weaken the antigraft body.

A hearing at the Constitutional Court on Nov. 3 during, which the KPK played recordings of wiretapped conversations, revealed discussions between officials at the National Police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) about the plot to frame Bibit and Chandra.

Also in the recorded conversations is Anggodo Widjojo, the younger brother of Anggoro Widjojo, a graft suspect whom the KPK investigated; he has since fled to Singapore, avoiding the legal process.

The recordings provide blatant evidence of abuse of power by high-ranking officials at the National Police and the AGO. While the revelations are shocking, there is widespread belief that this is not an isolated case - rather, that such behavior is part of the culture of Indonesia's legal institutions.

The fact-finding team has recommended that the President crack down on brokers at the National Police and AGO and reform the legal institutions. However, given the long list of bribery cases involving law enforcers, and the longer list of those never mentioned apart from anecdotes in living rooms and online forums, it is no exaggeration to say that reforming these institutions will take a great deal of effort, resources, time and political will.

To get an idea of the size of the problem, consider the National Police, just one part of one institution (considering all levels from district to provincial to national, there are nearly 7,900 police offices around the country, with around 400,000 individual officers).

Stories abound of how officers are introduced to institutional corruption even before they start work; people say bribery is an integral part of the recruitment process and that without it, you won't get hired.

Of course, it is almost impossible to find a police officer who is willing to speak on the record about the extent of bribery and how it works in practice, for fear of tarnishing the institution's reputation.

But stories will out, and Internet forums are one place to find them. Although informal and anecdotal, the tales told, when gathered together, build a compelling picture of the kinds of transactions taking place every day.

An online discussion forum hosted by the Air Force (www.tni-au.mil.id/forum/tm.asp?m=17280&mpage=1&key=) is a good example. One Internet user, identified as "eals", writes, "I believe *bribery does take place during recruitment*. Two cousins of mine spent hundreds of millions to be recruited to the National Police."

Another user, "Satria", writes, "It is public knowledge that money plays an important role in recruitment at the National Police and at other state institutions. People often ask a new recruit: How much did you pay to get recruited?"

As for bribes during a police career, a user identified as "Athena" said a soldier or police officer would experience a hard life if trying to rely only on his or her official salary.

"My father is a real example. A lieutenant colonel, my father relied on his salary alone to support his family," Athena wrote. "When he retired in 1996, his *monthly* salary was Rp 800,000. He had no house. In the end, we lived in a rented house for years."

A blog that provides information about recruitment to the National Police (bagdalpers.wordpress.com/tentang/*comment-453) is worth a look.

A visitor identified as "Hendra" wrote a complaint on the blog. He said he sent an application some time ago and was invited to undergo a health check. He said there was nothing wrong with his health, but he did not pass the test. However, a friend of his who had typhoid did pass the medical. Hendra was suspicious bribery was the reason behind the different results.

Another visitor, "Evandiani", said that anyone hoping to become a police officer needs either money or a relative in a powerful position.

The discussions in these forums correlate with findings by Transparency International Indonesia (TII), which show that the National Police is the institution most affected by corrupt practices. Of the 15 public institutions surveyed, the National Police has kept its position at the top, with the highest bribery index of 48 percent.

According to the survey, published earlier this year, police receive, on average, Rp 2.27 million (US$227) for each "transaction" with members of the public.

Despite the statement that institutionalized corruption among police is "public knowledge", a couple of police officers asked for their view insisted they neither took nor paid bribes, either during the recruitment process or at work.

Prasetyo, who works in the traffic police, said it was his dream to become a policeman, inspired in part by his uncle, also a policeman.

"I decided to become a policeman because I thought if I was a policeman I'd have more chances to help more people," he said.

Prasetyo said the recruitment process involved a series of examinations held over a period of about two months. "I worked really hard to achieve it," he said. "I did not get any help from my uncle. Not at all."

Another officer, Primas, said he had wanted to join the police since he was in high school, saying that his aim was to lend a hand to people needing assistance.

"I have two uncles who worked in the police," he added. "My success in entering the institution was not because of them. I worked hard to earn it."

As for the National Police's bad reputation, the two officers (who both refused to reveal their rank) said they just had to live with the label.

Prasetyo said he often heard people saying how traffic police play dirty on the streets, using their position to take bribes.

"Many people might despise us because of the actions of the individuals who take bribes from other people," he said.

Yet there certainly appears to be enough of these individuals to ensure that just about everybody in Indonesia has a bribery-related anecdote, hinting at the size of the iceberg lurking in the waters.

Recommendations for chipping away at it have been handed down to the President. The public is now waiting for the national leader to take concrete action to build cleaner and more accountable law-enforcement institutions.

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