The National Police move triggered speculation the detention was a form of “revenge” against Susno, who has testified about judicial corruption involving several police generals.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang, confirmed Susno had been named a suspect
Anticorruption for fraud involving a Riau-based arowana fish-farming company.

JP/WENDRA AJISTYATAMA

“Detectives have found enough evidence to declare him a suspect. We are professionals,” he told reporters.

Edward denied the allegation that Susno’s detention was a form of “revenge”.

“Do you think this investigation is a game?” he said.

Susno was charged with bribery under the 2002 Anticorruption Law for allegedly receiving Rp 500 million (US$55,000) in bribes from suspected case broker Sjahril Djohan.

The bribe was allegedly intended to “settle” the arowana case, which was under investigation by the police during Susno’s tenure as chief detective.

A recently leaked document, an alleged police dossier on Sjahril, stated the former diplomat met Susno at his house in December 2008 to hand over the bribe.

Sjahril said the money was from Haposan Hutagalung, a lawyer for a company involved in the alleged fraud.

Sjahril said Adj. Sr. Comr. Syamsurizal Mokoagouw, an antinarcotics police officer, was in Susno’s house when he accepted the bribe.

Edward said that Sjahril, Haposan and Syamsurizal had been questioned before naming Susno a suspect.
One of Susno’s lawyers, Mohammad Assegaf, said detectives only had testimonies from witnesses, but no hard evidence.

“Testimonies are weak in a legal case. The detectives have no convincing proof,” he said.

Assegaf said he was surprised to learn that Monday’s questioning resulted in Susno’s detention.

“The warrant says the questioning is for Pak Susno as a witness. This is a trap,” he said.

Immediately after the arrest, Susno’s family members held a press conference at his house in Cinere, Depok, West Java.

Susno’s cousin, Husni Maderi, said the arrest was unfair.

“We will never stop supporting Pak Susno. [The police move] is part of efforts to conceal the truth. If the police want to enforce fair treatment, please investigate the police general who has more than one wife.

It’s a violation of the police’s code of ethics,” he said.

A high-ranked police officer who requested anonymity recently told The Jakarta Post that a police general at the National Police headquarters had four wives.

Two of them were in Jakarta, one in Bogor, and the other one in Bandung, the source said.

“Some of the wives are case brokers that handle promotion and further education enrollment at the police force,” the source said.

A 1990 government regulation prohibits any male civil servant from having more than one wife without permission from a related authority.

Last week, Susno reported “unfair” treatment by the police to the National Commission on Human Rights.

On Friday, Susno also sought protection from the Witness and Victim Protection Agency as he felt the arowana case would harm him.

The arowana case first emerged after Susno himself released it to the public through an open hearing with the House of Representatives’ Commission III on legal affairs last month.

He said it was another case of judicial corruption, larger than the one that implicated low-ranked tax officer Gayus Tambunan, which involved Rp 28 billion in Gayus’ account.

The Gayus case has so far implicated eight suspects including a judge, police officers, a lawyer, a businessman and another tax officer. His testimony also alleged that Sjahril was a big-time case broker at the National Police who, according to Susno, worked for a now retired three-star general.

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