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AKARTA: An alliance of NGOs accused the police Wednesday of contempt of court for its failure on Tuesday to present a tape containing bugged conversations between a Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy and an alleged case broker to the Corruption Court.

The police claim the tape contains conversations between KPK deputy Ade Rahardja and legal case middleman Ary Muladi.

Judges at the Court have ordered the police to bring the tape to prove defendant businessman Anggodo Widjojo’s claim that he was extorted by KPK deputies Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah while he sought to help his brother out of a graft case.

The alliance, which consists of the Institute for Assessment and Advocacy of Independent Judiciary (LeIP), Center for Legal and Policy Studies (PSHK), Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and Indonesia Roundtable (ILR), said the police had obstructed the state’s anticorruption drive.

It demanded that the police present the tape, if it does have it, to the Court as judges requested.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said the police would need more time to make sure that handing the tape would not constitute a breach of the law on access to public information.

Skeptics have doubted the police actually have the tape. — JP