Police Officers Jailed for Bribery in E. Java Illegal Mining Case

Residents and students protest the murder of farmer and activist Salim in Central Java demanding that the police bring the perpetrators to justice. (Antara/Pradita Utama)

Jakarta. Police in East Java sentenced three of its officers to 21 days in prison after finding them guilty of accepting bribes to protect an illegal mining operation, which sparked nationwide attention after a farmer was murdered for protesting against its activities.

The three officers from the Pasirian subdistrict police – former chief Adj. Comr. Sudarmanto, current criminal investigation unit chief Second Insp. Samsul Hadi and chief of public order and security Second Adj. Insp. Sigit Purnomo – were also demoted from their ranks and given a written warning as part of a verdict reached by an internal tribunal on Monday.

It remains unclear whether the officers would also face a criminal investigation following the result of the ethics hearing, as promised earlier by the East Java Provincial Police.

Chief of Selok Awar-Awar village, Hariyono, earlier told the ethics tribunal that he had provided Sudarmanto with Rp 1 million ($73.44) per month, and Samsul and Sigit Rp 500,000 each, since mining began more than a year ago.

Hariyono also told the hearing that he earned Rp 426 million ($31,284) a month from the operation and that some of the funds were used to bribe officials from the Pasirian subdistrict office, military officials and state logging firm Perhutani.

The mining operations were brought to public attention after local farmer Salim, also known as Kancil, was found brutally murdered last month, and another farmer Tosan was hospitalized for days following a similar assault. Both men had been leading a series of protests against the mining operations.

National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said on Monday that he had instructed his men in East Java to investigate the possible involvement of acting district chief As'at Malik.

“The previous district chief [Sjahrazad Masdar, who died from lung cancer in January] once voiced his disapproval of the mine to the DPRD [Regional Legislative Council], calling its operation illegal," Badrodin told reporters in Jakarta. "But when [Sjahrazad] died, it seems his objections died with him."

“We suspect that [As'at] was involved [in supporting the mine] but we need to prove it,” Badrodin added.

Police have charged 23 people for the murder of Salim and another 14 for illegal mining.

By : Farouk Arnaz | on 7:30 PM October 19, 2015