Minister calls for stricter rules on wiretapping

JAKARTA: Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring says stricter regulations are needed for law-enforcement institutions performing wire taps.

"In future, it would be better if law-enforcement institutions do not exploit their wiretapping rights recklessly," Titaful said at the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Monday.

"In law enforcement institutions' recklessness ... they have ended up wiretapping one another," he said.

Tifatul was referring to controversial conversations involving top National Police officials that were caught on tape by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The KPK successfully wiretapped National Police Detective Chief Com. Gen. Susno Duadji in a phone conversation, in which he is suspected of having asked for a bribe during his investigation of the Bank Century scandal.

The KPK also recently obtained a tape that reveals an alleged plot by the police and AGO to frame suspended KPK deputy chairmen Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Riyanto.

To prevent future conflicts between legal institutions, Tifatul suggested courts be in charge of granting permission for wiretapping investigations.

Tifatul also said it would be better for courts and legal institutions to coordinate with his ministry in the future. - JP