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Kompolnas looks into police corruption rumor amidst 'star wars'
The National Police Commission (Kompolnas) has vowed to investigate allegations of police links to illegal mining, after a former officer claimed to have been forced to implicate a high-ranking cop, part of what the commission chair has dubbed "star wars."
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Police officers line up to enter the State Palace in Jakarta on Oct. 14. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo invited top brass from the National Police headquarters, regional police chiefs and district police chiefs from across the country to his office for directives. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
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he National Police Commission (Kompolnas) has vowed to investigate allegations of police links to illegal mining, after a former officer claimed to have been forced to implicate a high-ranking cop, part of what the commission chair has dubbed “star wars.”
In a meeting on Monday, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD, who is also the Kompolnas chairperson, instructed commissioners to verify the information within the police institution and to monitor the police investigation.
Over the weekend, a video circulated on social media, in which Ismail Bolong – a former police officer in Samarinda, East Kalimantan – said he gave Rp 6 billion (US$382,359) to National Police Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) chief Comr. Gen. Agus Andrianto in a bribery case relating to mining activities in East Kalimantan.
However, following the viral video, Ismail released a statement in another video, denying he had ever paid the money to three-star general Agus. "I will clarify that I have never given money to the Bareskrim [chief]. I have never met him," Ismail said in his most recent statement.
He explained that he made the video statement in February under the pressure from then-head of the police’s internal security agency Brig. Gen. Hendra Kurniawan.
Last month, Hendra was stripped of his one-star rank and dismissed from the police for obstructing justice in the handling of the high-profile Brig. Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat murder case.
The police have found sufficient evidence that the victim’s former commander Ferdy Sambo – a former two-star general and head of internal affairs at the National Police – allegedly orchestrated the killing and worked together with dozens of police officers who initially investigated the case to cover it up.
