Jakarta – Applicants to join the Indonesian police must pay bribes of up to 15 million rupiah (1,500 dollars) if they want to pass the selection process, a newspaper reported Thursday.

"The price is too high for me. I will have to reconsider proceeding further with the tests if money is a decisive matter in the recruitment process," the Jakarta Post quoted one applicant for a middle-ranking post as saying. It quoted an applicant for a lower-ranking post as saying a policewoman told her to pay one million rupiah.

The Post said many would-be recruits told a similar story Wednesday. The monthly starting salary for a middle-ranking officer is about 1.2 million rupiah (120 dollars). A Jakarta police personnel official was quoted as denying the bribery claims.

On Wednesday an applicant who became depressed after being rejected climbed a 50-meter (165-feet) telecommunication tower at Jakarta police headquarters. Four officers climbed the tower and after more than one hour persuaded her to come down.

Last month President Megawati Sukarnoputri expressed concern at a poll which listed the country as the most corrupt in Asia and called on Indonesians to work hard to shed the image.