Kuta Police’s top dog has been demoted to serving behind a desk in Bali Police’s operations bureau following an extortion scandal.
Comr. Dedy Januarta was replaced by Comr. I Wayan Sumara as Kuta Police chief during a ceremony on Monday, reports the Jakarta Post. Januarta apparently did attend the ceremony but was not so keen to comment to the press.
“Referring to the previous [extortion] incident, we are hoping that it won’t happen again. No one hopes that will happen again,” Denpasar Police chief Sr. Comr. Anak Agung Made Sudana said while leading the inauguration ceremony, as quoted by the Jakarta Post.
Januarta was the highest-ranking officer amongst 12 police personnel punished for involvement in the extortion of a group of Australians, which was made public this June when reports were released of Mark Ipaviz’s buck’s night out turned nightmare in February.
The Australian men had hired a stripper for entertainment in Seminyak when a group of private security guards stormed the party, allegedly pistol-whipping and tasing the men. When police arrived at the scene, they reportedly threatened to charge the Australian men with indecency charges carrying 10 years unless they coughed up a large sum of cash.
Results of an internal investigation in Bali Police found that eight police officers shared Rp 20 million from the Australians, while four other personnel (one of which was Januarta) were complicit in not reporting the case.
“Even if he did not take the money, as the chief of Kuta Police [at the time], he must take responsibility for what has happened,” Bali Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Hery Wiryanto said on Sunday, as quoted by the JakPost.
But it’s not all said and done yet: Bali Police has not yet handed down permanent sanctions against the 12 police personnel as this can’t happen until their ethics tribunals are complete. The max punishment is reportedly dismissal from the force.
Facepalm illustration: Wikimedia Commons
