Jakarta – The shocking escape of an army soldier, held on charges related to last year's bombing of the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) building, has sparked a furore among the authorities, with the military police chief's head being the first to roll.

Jakarta military police chief Colonel Joestiono was dismissed on Tuesday morning, following second corporal Ibrahim Hasan's escape from his military police guard the day before. He is the second defendant in the case to have escaped this year. Another defendant, civilian Ibrahim Abdul Wahab, escaped in February.

On early Monday morning, Ibrahim Hasan had allegedly told his guards – four elite members of the military police – that he was feeling ill, and was driven to a hospital in Central Jakarta in a military van. However, the right front tyre of the van developed a puncture during the journey.

While all four guards were supposedly engaged in changing the tyre, their prisoner escaped. "As the commander, Col Joestiono is responsible for the actions of his men, including their carelessness. He deserves to be dismissed," Jakarta Military Commander Maj-Gen Bibit Waluyo told reporters on Tuesday. The four officers have also been declared suspects in this case.

Ibrahim Hasan, a member of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), is one of two principal suspects in the JSX building bombing case last September. A panel of civilian and military judges had been scheduled to hear his testimony yesterday morning.

Col Joestiono returned his baton to Maj-Gen Bibit on Tuesday at Jakarta Military Headquarters, while his deputy Lt-Col Agus Ryadi took over his duties. Following his dismissal, the investigation into Ibrahim Hasan's escape will be taken over by Military Police Commander Maj-Gen Djasri Marin.