Sometimes it's just not worth it to report a crime in Indonesia.
Therea few weeks, I was robbed on a bus to Jakarta. A pickpocket deftly removed my Samsung smartphone in my pocket the crowded bus pulled up to a stop. I apprehended the thief and had to stop other commuters beat. Then I had to tell the guardians of busway that I did not want to beat him, but wanted to take him to the police. A man invited me to reconsider, like going to the police would be long and costly.
In Indonesia, there is a saying that goes like, "report a stolen chicken and then lose a goat." A variation is "report a missing goat then lose a cow." It refers to the public perception that some police officers demand money typing a crime report and investigate.
This was the experience of a woman named Imelda Febrianty Sihite (28), a resident of Patumbak, just outside the provincial capital of North Sumatra Medan. In January, she reported to the police that Billy Timothy, an official at the tax office Bintan Island, had turned it Rp.23 million in 2015.
She said Brigadier Viktory Sinulingga, an officer economic Division of the criminal investigation Unit in Medan police, eventually asking for money and property amounting to nearly Rp.50 million to deal with his case, but after five months was not Billy been arrested or brought to justice.
Imelda said Viktory had promised him that Billy would be arrested if she and her family could provide payments and gifts "for the officers of the Medan police." She said that one of the requests was four bottles of wine, which cost each Rp.600,000.
The police have in the past admitted that officers sometimes ask for money for a survey, apparently because their budgets are insufficient.
Imelda said Billy was declared suspect May 7 and charged with violating articles 378 (fraud) and 372 (embezzlement) of the Criminal Code. She said Viktory was told that the funds were required to take Billy to the court so that her family paid down payments of Rp.20 million. The money was transferred to a bank account in Central Asia on behalf of Liza Arditha, who is the wife of Viktory.
A few weeks later, when Imelda asked the police why Billy was not brought to court, he was told they had "forgotten" to include the charge of embezzlement when they sent the case to state prosecutors, it was abandoned.
At this point, Imelda felt she had been cheated twice, first by Billy, then by police, she hired a lawyer and told local media his experience.
She urged the head of the Medan Police Commissioner Mardiaz Dwihananto Kusin, berating his subordinates, particularly Viktory. Mardiaz but did not even offer an apology, the only restitution. "Tell him to prove it," he said dryly.
Imelda showed the media a few recipes for bank transfers his family had done. Contacted by tribun-medan.com, Mardiaz declined to say whether he would take follow-up action. "Just send a report to the Division [local police’s] Professional and security. Let them deal with it," he said in a message ..
A journalist from Medan Tribune daily newspaper wrote that Mardiaz was angry when asked about the case and "expelled tribune ." The report said Mardiaz had contacted the family of Imelda by phone, but only to reprimand them to go public.
last year, the head of the police criminal investigation Division, Commissioner General Budi Waseso, admitted that police standards in case of treatment vary from station to station, to a. for example agent, some officers may request funds to investigate a stolen car, and then seek additional funds to return the vehicle if was recovered.
Waseso, now head of the national narcotics Agency, promised that he would solve the problem for the police to follow the rules when handling investigations.
He said he wanted to change the negative view of the police public, ending the perception of "report lost chicken, lost a goat." He said the measures would include a more stringent recycling and stricter underwriting standards for investigators. But some police say they have to pay for promotions - a system that encourages corruption. Tempo magazine reported in 2013 that police pay Rp.200 million Rp.2 billion for promotions, depending on the desired position.
Opinion polls ranked the police as one of the most corrupt institutions in Indonesia.
Waseso proposed a budget increase for the provincial police and district level, so that they would no longer claim that they did not have money for surveys.
higher budgets and salaries of Services will not be enough to stop the corruption of the police as long as he remains unpunished. Imelda said if police Medan fail to take action in his case, it will report the matter to the Division of Homeland Security of the National Police in Jakarta. She said that those who profited from extortion should be investigated.
Who knows if Imelda get any satisfaction. Police are now concerned about the imminent appointment of a new head of the National Police, the most likely to be the anti-terror chief Tito Karnavian. Indonesian Corruption Watch was asked to improve the image of the police by the eradication of graft in the ranks.
Petty theft often carries the greatest risk in Indonesia, like thieves caught in the act can be beaten and burned to death by angry mobs. Conversely, the white collar criminals are more likely to go unpunished, as potentially angry crowds are too busy watching soap operas or smoking cigarettes to walk down and deliver a beating.
A slogan of the Indonesian police, posted on many banners, is " kami Siap Melayani Anda " - We are ready to serve you. Some Indonesians disagree, saying that the police serve and protect the very wealthy and the political elite, and provide escorts to beat the heavy traffic.
Back to my experience with a pickpocket. When I finally arrived at a police station after hours of waiting for a busway stop, nobody asks any form of payment. The officers were nice and friendly. But in the end, the thief got off with a stern warning, as I have not pushed for a formal investigation process or a hard punishment.
If you become the victim of a crime, play your cards carefully. - And consider what you are willing to spend in the pursuit of justice