CORRUPTION WATCH DEMANDS SUSPENSION OF EDMOND, RADJA

Jakarta, March 27 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) has urged National Police Chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri to suspend two generals due to alleged corruption cases.

"The National Police Chief should put them both in a non active status in order to facilitate the investigation and grilling," ICW Coordinator Emerson Juntho said in a discussion on "Case Broker Octopus" here on Saturday.

The two generals were Brigadier General Edmond Ilyas, the current Director II for Special Economic of the National Police's Criminal Investigation Unit and Brigadier General Radja Erizman, Edmond's deputy.

Their suspension was necessary to help pave the way for an investigation of the Rp25 billion money laundering case by an independent team, Emerson said.

The handling of the money laundering case was a momentum to reform the National Police, he said.

However, he believed that extraordinary steps should be taken by law enforces in dealing with the case.

Meanwhile, Brigadier General Sulistyo Ishak, deputy chief of the Police's Public Relations Division, said possible suspension of the two generals would depend on the results of an investigation conducted by the National Police's independent team.

Sulistyo said alleged irregularities were detected in the case and the team grilled suspects, namely Robertus and Andi Kosasih, and tried to trace Rp24.6 billion bank account.