Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and House legislators questioned Friday the credibility of the police's "call data records", which were offered in lieu of tape recordings in an ongoing corruption trial.
The records are expected to serve as key evidence in a high-profile graft case involving two top officials from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto.
ICW legal researcher Febri Diansyah said Friday the ICW could not trust the National Police because of their poor track record in evidence tampering and mismanaging corruption investigations.
The case of Ary Mulyadi, a suspect and witness in the trial of businessman Anggodo Widjojo, is an example of how the police force has meddled with investigations, he said.
At a trial session at the Corruption Court on July 15, Ary revoked his initial confession that stated he had bribed Chandra and Bibit to drop an investigation into Anggodo's brother, Anggoro Widjojo. Ary admitted that he had falsified his initial statements to the police, citing undue pressure.
"That is a strong indication that the police had attempted to tamper with the investigation, while trying to convince the public that the KPK was infested with corruption," Febri told The Jakarta Post.
On Wednesday, during a trial session where police were expected to present tape recorded conversations between Ary and KPK deputy chairman Ade Rahardja, the police submitted only "call data records" that indicated such conversations. The records reportedly listed call traffic, numbers and the durations of calls allegedly made between Ade and Ary.
The National Police are now facing accusations from the public that they lied about having tape recordings of the alleged conversations. The tapes, if they exist, could serve as evidence corroborating allegations that Chandra and Bibit were involved in corruption.
National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri reportedly went "missing" on Friday. He cancelled his appearance at the swearing in of a number of high-ranking officers without notice.
A spokesman told journalists that Bambang had to delay the ceremony indefinitely due to an urgent meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. However, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said Bambang was neither invited nor present at the meeting. Bambang has yet to give any explanation about the missing records or the call data records.
Febri said the police should be transparent in detailing how they obtained the call records, which could have been easily fabricated, adding that the police must assure the public that the numbers in the records actually belonged to Ade and Ary.
Digital forensic expert Ruby Alamsyah said investigators would have to examine International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers to confirm who owned the cell phone numbers recorded in the call records. "IMEI numbers are unique and usually used to identify mobile phones."
Nasir Jamil, a member of the House of Representatives' Commission III on legal affairs, said the police could have "engineered" them. "I have an inkling that the police might have meddled with the records to 'frame' Chandra and Bibit," Nasir said.
Nasir said his commission would ask Bambang to clarify the matter after the House's recess for Ramadan. He added that Yudhoyono might also have to consider discharging Bambang before his scheduled retirement in October.
Presidential spokesperson Julian A. Pasha said Yudhoyono would let the appropriate legal institutions conduct their investigations to find the truth. (tsy)