N

ational Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said on Wednesday that he had followed up findings by an NGO that suggested that up to 33 low- to high-ranking police officers had accepted bribes from graft suspect Chief Brig. Labora Sitorus.

'My main commitment is to eradicate corruption. I will carry out decisive action against [any officer] in accordance with the law, as long as it is based on credible facts and evidence,' Timur, whose tenure as police chief will end later this year, told journalists at the State Palace.

Timur declined to reveal the identity of the officers in question, saying only that they included former and current senior officers in Papua.

Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) previously announced the results of its investigation into allegations that Labora, who is now in detention, paid bribes to 33 police officers, including a Papua Police chief, totaling Rp 10.95 billion (US$954,249), to protect his illegal logging and fuel-smuggling businesses.

IPW chairman Neta S. Pane said Labora had wired and personally handed money to officials in the Papua Police and National Police forces between January 2012 and March 2013. 'He also bribed a number of Papua Police officers, ranging from police precinct chiefs to the Papua Police chief,' Neta said.

The graft case involving Labora, a low-ranking officer stationed on West Papua's resort island of Raja Ampat, came to light in May following a disclosure by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) stating that he was linked to bank transactions totaling Rp 1 trillion between 2007 and 2012.