Involvement of military general in biker gang under probe: BIN chief

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Fri, 04/20/2012

National Intelligence Agency (BIN) head Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman says the Military Police are investigating the alleged involvement of a military general in recent series of violence by the so-called “biker gangs”.

But he hints at possible punishment that could go as far as “disciplinary measures” only for an Indonesian Military (TNI) member who is found to be guilty.

“I believe the TNI [Indonesian Military] has good performance in enforcing disciplinary measures given the fact that [what the gang members did] involved criminal acts,” he Marciano said on Friday at the State Palace.

Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Waris previously said that a military member who had higher rank than him had allegedly been involved in biker gang attacks.

In response to the biker gang issue, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had summoned Jakarta Police chief Ir. Gen. Untung Suharsono Rajab and Waris to his residence in Cikeas, West Java, Waris said.

“In the meeting, I told the President, ‘forgive me, I’m still unable to deal with my extreme senior,” Waris said as quoted by kompas.com.

Waris did not disclose the identity of his senior he was referring to, but claimed to have revealed it to the President.

According to Waris, there are four military members who have been under investigation by the Military Police for their alleged involvement in the attacks.

A string of vigilante acts in Jakarta left two civilians dead and 15 others injured.

The attacks are believed to be a form of retaliation for the killing of a member of the Navy, Arifin Sirih, by a group of people on Jl. Benyamin Sueb in Pademangan, North Jakarta, on March 31

April 20, 2012

The Indonesian Armed Forces confirmed on Friday that four of its members were part of the motorcycle gang that went on a brutal rampage that left two people dead and 15 injured.

Col. Andrian Ponto, the spokesman for the Jakarta Military Command, said the four officers from the air defense artillery unit were still being questioned by the garrison’s military police.

“They are still being investigated and so far the investigation has not yet led to the confiscation of evidence,” Andrian said. “The investigation is also being undertaken to see whether there were other individuals from the TNI [Armed Forces] involved.”

The four soldiers were identified as Second Sergeants Y.P. and J.T., Master Soldier M. and First Soldier M.K. The men may have known Arifin, a Navy sailor who died after being beaten up by a rival motorcycle gang in Kemayoran on March 31 after he tried to reprimand them for holding an illegal drag race there.

A motorcycle gang whose members wore yellow ribbons on their arms went on a bloody rampage in North and Central Jakarta between April 7 and 13, leaving two people dead and 15 injured.

Adrian said the four may have joined the motorcycle gang on their own, without the knowledge of their superiors, out of “solidarity.”

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said the investigation would be followed up by a joint team made up of representatives from the Jakarta Police and the Jakarta Military Police.

“With the arrests of these four individuals, we already have some clarity in the case. They will become the entry point for the joint investigating team to be able to see more clearly into the details of the case,” Rikwanto said, adding that more soldiers or civilians may be named as suspects.

Jakarta Military Command chief Maj. Gen. Waris has said firm sanctions will be meted out to the four soldiers for their roles in the rampage.

Rikwanto expressed hope that police would soon catch the killers of Arifin, the sailor whose death sparked the violence. So far, police have arrested the head of the Y-Gen motorcycle gang involved in the drag race.

“The development, at this stage, is that we already have some clarity. Our personnel continue to work in the field and we are confident that within a week we will be able to identify the perpetrators and arrest them,” the spokesman said.

Rikwanto added that police were heightening security around three locations often used for motorcycles drag races — Jalan Benyamin Sueb in Central Jakarta’s Kemayoran, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in East Jakarta and Jalan Asia Afrika in South Jakarta.



(x the JG)