Indonesian National Police Commission urges sanctioning Makassar officers for alleged extortion, assault
JAKARTA: The National Police Commission (Kompolnas) has called for sanctioning six officers in South Sulawesi who allegedly extorted and assaulted a local resident, the latest in a series of extortion scandals to batter the National Police in recent months.
Kompolnas commissioner Mohammad Choirul Anam said the actions alleged of the six officers had tarnished the reputation of the police force, and that strict sanctions were necessary as a deterrent to others.
'We need to impose strict punishment to prevent such incidents from happening again in the future,' Anam said on Wednesday (June 4), as quoted by Kompas.com.
Yusuf Saputra, a 20-year-old resident of Boddia village in Takalar regency, said six officers from the Makassar Police extorted and assaulted him on May 27. Yusuf said the police officers arrested him without a warrant at around 10 p.m. while he was visiting a local night market.
'They pointed a gun at my head and hit me multiple times. The officers then transported me to a secluded location using a car,' he added.
According to Yusuf's account, the policemen proceeded to strip him and bind his hands. They then forced him to confess to using drugs and possessing the synthetic tobacco that one officer had planted on him.
The assault lasted for around seven hours. Later, the officers contacted his family and allegedly demanded Rp 15 million (US$920) for his release, but were told they could only afford Rp 1 million.
Yusuf said he was finally released after the officers had received this amount. Yusuf reported the incident to the local police, but alleged they initially refused to process his complaint and did so only after he shared his experience on social media, where his post went viral and triggered widespread public backlash.
Makassar Police chief Sr. Comr. Arya Perdana said the National Police's internal affairs division (Propam) had detained the six officers named in Yusuf's report pending an ethics hearing.
'A special investigation team has been formed to handle the case. We are currently interviewing witnesses and finalising the administrative process,' Arya said on Wednesday.
The police chief added that the six officers were also alleged of committing multiple violations that same evening, including neglecting their duties and operating outside their jurisdiction.
Commissioner Anam said Kompolnas was monitoring the case closely and had urged the Makassar Police to investigate the incident promptly and hold an ethical hearing as soon as possible.
'We remind all police officers that National Police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo has emphasised that any misconduct by officers must be promptly investigated and addressed, with full accountability and transparency throughout the process,' he said.
In a separate extortion case on Monday, Propam detained an officer from the Bone Bolango Police in Gorontalo province over allegations of sexually assaulting and extorting a university student.
In February in Central Java, the Semarang Police demoted two officers accused of extorting Rp 2.5 million from two senior high school students in a case that sparked outrage on social media.
And in January, the Jakarta Police dishonorably dismissed three officers and demoted 33 others in connection with a major extortion scandal at the Djakarta Warehouse Project Fest in December last year.
The officers allegedly coerced dozens of Malaysian concertgoers into taking drug tests and threatened to bring criminal charges unless they paid bribes. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sinar Daily
2 hours ago
- Sinar Daily
Aiming a blow at narcos, Colombia pays farmers to uproot coca
ARGELIA - With cocaine production at an all-time high, Colombia's government is testing a pacific approach to its narcotics problem: paying farmers to uproot crops of coca, the drug's main ingredient. Among the beneficiaries are Alirio Caicedo and his son Nicolas, who a decade ago planted an expanse of coca as they staked their future on the continued patronage of criminal gangs. Coffee and coca leaf farmer Alirio Caicedo picks dried coffee beans in a village near Argelia, Cauca department, Colombia on May 6, 2025. Alirio Caicedo and his son Nicolas uproot the coca plants they planted a decade ago. Their leaves are coveted by drug traffickers, but these farmers have made a commitment to the Colombian government to eliminate the cultivation of the main component of cocaine in exchange for money. (Photo by JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP) Today, they are uprooting the crops and hoping for the best. The Caicedos and some 4,000 other Colombian families have entered into a pact with the government to replace their coca with alternative crops such as cocoa and coffee. It is part of a US$14.4 million project to reduce supply of a product blamed for untold misery in a country where armed groups force rural communities to grow coca and raze forests for its cultivation. The project seeks to eradicate coca production on 45,000 hectares in three of Colombia's most conflict-riddled regions, including the southwestern Micay Canyon where the Caicedos ply their trade in the Argelia municipality. For farmers it is a risk. They cannot be sure that their new plantations -- coffee in the Caicedos' case -- will succeed, or that guerrillas and other groups whose income depend on cocaine sales will leave them in peace. "When one is planting a coca plant, there is hope that in time... there will be a harvest and there will be some income," Nicolas Caicedo, 44, told AFP while he and his dad, 77, shoveled and tugged at the remaining coca shrubs on their property. "Uprooting the plants means that... there will be no more harvests -- in other words, no more money," from coca at least. With coca, the Caicedos said they were guaranteed an income of about US$800 per month. They have received an initial payment of about US$300 under the project to grow coffee, with more to come. But another farmer, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said he doubted the project could work in areas such as Argelia where illegal groups outnumber the state in terms of fighters and guns. "No armed group that lives off (coca) is going to want a farmer to stop growing coca and switch to coffee," he said. 'Naive' Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first-ever leftist president, took office in 2022 with the goal of extricating his country from the US-led "war on drugs" blamed for double-victimisation of rural Colombians already living under the yoke of violent criminal groups. View of the mountains near in Argelia, Cauca department, Colombia, on May 6, 2025. Alirio Caicedo and his son Nicolas uproot the coca plants they planted a decade ago. Their leaves are coveted by drug traffickers, but these farmers have made a commitment to the Colombian government to eliminate the cultivation of the main component of cocaine in exchange for money. (Photo by JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP) On his watch, cocaine production in Colombia -- the world's biggest exporter of the drug -- reached record levels as demand continues to grow in Europe and the United States -- the principal consumer. Several previous attempts to get Colombian coca producers to change crops have failed as armed groups caused havoc and government payments and other assistance eventually dried up. For Gloria Miranda, head of Colombia's illegal crop substitution program, told AFP would be naive to think this new program will end drug trafficking "as long as there is a market of 20 million consumers and it (cocaine) remains illegal." In his stated quest for "total peace," Petro has sought to negotiate with a variety of armed groups, meaning fewer military operations and the abandonment of forced coca eradication. But talks have mostly broken down, and the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House in January has ramped up pressure on Bogota. The Trump administration is reviewing Colombia's certification as an ally in the fight against drugs -- a move that could restrict millions of dollars in military aid. With high stakes for its crop replacement gamble, observers fear the government may be taken advantage of. Some farmers may "try to deceive" by taking the money while continuing to grow coca, Argelia government secretary Pablo Daza told AFP. Without adequate monitoring, "the chances are quite high that we are wasting money," added Emilio Archila, who oversaw a similar, failed, project under former President Ivan Duque. Miranda assures there will be "meticulous" satellite monitoring, and anyone found not to be complying will be expelled from the program. Used not only for cocaine, the coca leaf is also chewed as a stimulant in Andean countries or brewed into a tea thought to combat altitude sickness. Colombia's appeals for the leaf to be removed from a UN list of harmful narcotics so it can be commercialised in alternative products such as fertilisers or beverages, have so far fallen on deaf ears. - AFP
New Straits Times
9 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Colombian presidential contender has successful surgery after shooting
BOGOTA: A prominent Colombian right-wing presidential candidate who was shot during a campaign event in Bogota has successfully undergone initial surgery, the city's mayor said Sunday. Thirty-nine-year-old Senator Miguel Uribe was speaking to supporters in the capital when a gunman shot him twice in the head and once in the knee before being detained. A security guard managed to detain the suspected attacker, a minor who is believed to be 15 years old. Uribe was airlifted to hospital in "critical condition" and underwent a "neurosurgical" and "peripheral vascular procedure," the Santa Fe Clinic in Bogota confirmed. He "overcame the first surgical procedure," Bogota mayor Carlos Fernando Galan told media, adding that he had entered "the critical hours" of recovery. His wife, in an audio recording shared with media, said "he came out well from the surgery." "He fought the first battle and fought it well. He is fighting for his life," she is heard saying. Images from the scene of the shooting showed Uribe slumped against the hood of a white car, smeared with blood, as a group of men tried to hold him and stop the bleeding. The suspect was injured in the affray and was receiving treatment, said police director Carlos Fernando Triana. Two others -- a man and a woman -- were also wounded, and a Glock-style firearm was seized. "Our hearts are broken, Colombia hurts," Carolina Gomez, a 41-year-old businesswoman, told AFP as she prayed with candles for Uribe's health. The motive for the attack is not yet publicly known. Colombia's defense minister Pedro Sanchez vowed to use law enforcement's full capabilities and offered a roughly US$725,000 reward for information about who was behind the shooting. In a video address to the nation posted on social media, President Gustavo Petro also promised investigations to find the perpetrators of the "day of pain". "What matters most today is that all Colombians focus with the energy of our hearts, with our will to live ... on ensuring that Dr Miguel Uribe stays alive." In an earlier statement, Petro condemned the violence as "an attack not only against his person, but also against democracy, freedom of thought, and the legitimate exercise of politics in Colombia." The shooting was similarly condemned across the political spectrum and from overseas, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it "a direct threat to democracy." But Rubio also pointed blame at Petro, claiming the attack was the "result of the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government." "President Petro needs to dial back the inflammatory rhetoric and protect Colombian officials," the top US diplomat said. Uribe, a strong critic of Petro, is a member of the Democratic Center party, which announced last October his intention to run in the 2026 presidential election. Authorities said there was no specific threat made against the politician before the incident. Like many public figures in Colombia, Uribe had close personal protection. The country is home to several armed guerrilla groups, powerful cartels and has a long history of political violence. Uribe is the son of Diana Turbay, a famed Colombian journalist who was killed after being kidnapped by Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel. One of his grandfathers was president Julio Cesar Turbay, who led the country from 1978 to 1982. Supporters gathered outside the Bogota hospital, lighting candles and clutching crucifixes as they prayed for his recovery. Uribe's party said in a statement Saturday that an "armed individual" had shot the senator from behind. The party leader, former president Alvaro Uribe, described the shooting as an attack against "a hope for the country." Miguel Uribe -- who is not related to Alvaro -- has been a senator since 2022. He previously served as Bogota's government secretary and city councilor. He also ran for city mayor in 2019, but lost that election. - AFP
The Sun
9 hours ago
- The Sun
Colombian presidential candidate successfully underwent surgery after shooting: mayor
BOGOTÁ: A prominent Colombian right-wing presidential candidate who was shot during a campaign event in Bogota has successfully undergone initial surgery, the city's mayor said Sunday. Thirty-nine-year-old Senator Miguel Uribe was speaking to supporters in the capital when a gunman shot him twice in the head and once in the knee before being detained. A security guard managed to detain the suspected attacker, a minor who is believed to be 15 years old. Uribe was airlifted to hospital in 'critical condition' and underwent a 'neurosurgical' and 'peripheral vascular procedure,' the Santa Fe Clinic in Bogota confirmed. He 'overcame the first surgical procedure,' Bogota mayor Carlos Fernando Galan told media, adding that he had entered 'the critical hours' of recovery. His wife, in an audio recording shared with media, said 'he came out well from the surgery.' 'He fought the first battle and fought it well. He is fighting for his life,' she is heard saying. Images from the scene of the shooting showed Uribe slumped against the hood of a white car, smeared with blood, as a group of men tried to hold him and stop the bleeding. The suspect was injured in the affray and was receiving treatment, said police director Carlos Fernando Triana. Two others -- a man and a woman -- were also wounded, and a Glock-style firearm was seized. 'Our hearts are broken, Colombia hurts,' Carolina Gomez, a 41-year-old businesswoman, told AFP as she prayed with candles for Uribe's health. 'Day of pain' The motive for the attack is not yet publicly known. Colombia's defense minister Pedro Sanchez vowed to use law enforcement's full capabilities and offered a roughly US$725,000 reward for information about who was behind the shooting. In a video address to the nation posted on social media, President Gustavo Petro also promised investigations to find the perpetrators of the 'day of pain'. 'What matters most today is that all Colombians focus with the energy of our hearts, with our will to live ... on ensuring that Dr Miguel Uribe stays alive.' In an earlier statement, Petro condemned the violence as 'an attack not only against his person, but also against democracy, freedom of thought, and the legitimate exercise of politics in Colombia.' The shooting was similarly condemned across the political spectrum and from overseas, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it 'a direct threat to democracy.' But Rubio also pointed blame at Petro, claiming the attack was the 'result of the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government.' 'President Petro needs to dial back the inflammatory rhetoric and protect Colombian officials,' the top US diplomat said. Uribe, a strong critic of Petro, is a member of the Democratic Center party, which announced last October his intention to run in the 2026 presidential election. Authorities said there was no specific threat made against the politician before the incident. Like many public figures in Colombia, Uribe had close personal protection. The country is home to several armed guerrilla groups, powerful cartels and has a long history of political violence. Shot 'from behind' Uribe is the son of Diana Turbay, a famed Colombian journalist who was killed after being kidnapped by Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel. One of his grandfathers was president Julio Cesar Turbay, who led the country from 1978 to 1982. Supporters gathered outside the Bogota hospital, lighting candles and clutching crucifixes as they prayed for his recovery. Uribe's party said in a statement Saturday that an 'armed individual' had shot the senator from behind. The party leader, former president Alvaro Uribe, described the shooting as an attack against 'a hope for the country.' Miguel Uribe -- who is not related to Alvaro -- has been a senator since 2022. He previously served as Bogota's government secretary and city councilor. He also ran for city mayor in 2019, but lost that election.
