Jakarta – The Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) received 153 protection requests in 2010, up from 74 in 2009 and 10 in 2008, agency chairman Abdul Haris Semendawai told a press conference on Tuesday.

"This is good news because it indicates that LPSK's presence is in line with public expectations. At the same time, it is also a challenge for us given our limited resources and the loopholes in the legal foundations of witness and victim protection," he said.

Semendawai said the agency had received 116 requests from witnesses and victims of general crimes, such as murder and torture. "Twenty-seven witnesses and whistle-blowers of corruption cases sought our protection," he said.

Nine domestic violence victims also requested protection, and one request was terrorism-related.

In Geographic terms, 55.26 percent of the total requests in 2010 came from people in Java. "As many as 30.26 percent requests were from Sumatra, 5.29 percent from Kalimantan, while the rest were from eastern Indonesia," Semendawai said.

The LPSK has called for a revision to the 2006 Law on Witness and Victim Protection that would grant the agency more authority to summon and question people. "We also plan to establish branch offices in provinces," Semendawai said.

He said the agency had formed a selection committee to pick two new LPSK members. The new members will replace former LPSK members I Ktut Sudiharsa and Myra Diarsi, who were dismissed for ethical violations for their roles in the alleged incrimination of two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen.