Jakarta – Indonesian police are under fire again, this time for using cars and motorcycles impounded as criminal evidence. During an internal raid at the Jakarta Police headquarters last month, 32 cars and 52 motorcycles were recovered as the vehicles – meant for crime evidence – were being used by policemen.

But a senior officer justified the use of the vehicles because they had limited funds to buy new cars. Jakarta Police spokesman Senior Commander Anton Bachrul Alam reiterated that the limited budget had prompted the police to use these vehicles in order to be mobile.

But he admitted that last month's raid on the police headquarters was carried out to enforce discipline and acknowledged that the cars and motorcycles should not be used by policemen without approval from their superiors.

"Most of the time, the superiors will provide a recommendation paper for the officers who use any impounded vehicle." The spokesman said the vehicles were returned to the headquarters after the recommendation papers from the superiors were produced.

In an internal briefing that was held a day after the raid, Jakarta police's secretary of the police detective unit, Senior Commander Abdullah, said: "For the sake of all of us, to maintain our image and to enforce discipline among us, I order you to return vehicles that are for crime evidence or to complete the necessary clearance from your superiors."

Meanwhile, a non-governmental group, Police Watch, criticised the use of the vehicles. Its coordinator, Mr Athar, said: "For whatever reason, the crime evidence should not be disturbed. It is totally wrong to use them. It's not for official activities and especially not for personal use," he stressed.

He revealed that it had been going on for years. "It's not a new thing. All of us know about it. The good news is that they have publicised the raid," Mr Athar claimed.