Jakarta. Adjunct Chief Commissioner Bintoro of the Jakarta Police is set to face an ethics tribunal for allegedly extorting money from two suspects linked to the death of an underage girl, a police spokesman announced on Wednesday.

The National Police Commission, which oversees law enforcement conduct, has also recommended that Bintoro be criminally prosecuted for abuse of power.

Bintoro is accused of receiving billions of rupiah from siblings Arif Nugroho, also known as Bastian, and Muhammad Bayu Hartanto, who are facing charges under Indonesia’s stringent child protection law for alleged sexual violence. The payments were allegedly made in exchange for dropping the criminal investigation against them.

The 16-year-old victim, whose identity remains confidential in accordance with child protection laws, was found dead from a drug overdose in a South Jakarta hotel on April 22, 2024. Investigators allege that the suspects paid her for sex and forced her to consume drugs.

Lamborghini Aventador
In addition to accepting money, Bintoro is also accused of embezzling luxury vehicles belonging to the suspects, according to Chief Commissioner Ade Ary Syam Indradi, spokesman for the Jakarta Police.

The suspects’ parents, who own the prominent Prodia clinic network, filed a civil lawsuit against Bintoro earlier this month, demanding the return of a Lamborghini Aventador, a Harley Davidson Sportster Iron, and a BMW HP4 motorcycle.

According to the police spokesman, Bintoro, who at the time led the South Jakarta Police’s criminal investigation unit, initially offered to sell the vehicles to generate funds to settle the case. However, the suspects’ family allegedly did not receive the full amount from the sale.

"That is the sequence of events according to the accusers, and we are investigating the case thoroughly," Ade said.

Earlier, police confirmed that Bintoro and three other officers from the South Jakarta Police had been reassigned to administrative duties while an internal investigation is underway.

The other officers under investigation include Bintoro’s successor, Adjunct Chief Commissioner Gogo Galesung, and two detectives identified by their initials, Z and ND.

Protracted Investigation
Bintoro publicly announced the criminal investigation into the girl’s death on April 28, 2024, but the case stalled until he was reassigned to the Jakarta Police headquarters in August. He allegedly offered the girl’s family Rp 300 million ($18,448) through a middleman to drop the police complaint.

The case was finally handed over to prosecutors only after Gogo took over as head of the unit. However, Gogo has since been implicated in the bribery scandal as well.

Prosecutors confirmed that the murder case is now moving forward and will soon be brought to trial.

“We are currently preparing indictments against the suspects,” said Haryoko Ari Prabowo, head of the South Jakarta Prosecutors’ Office, on Wednesday.

The child protection law carries the death sentence.

Denial
Meanwhile, Bintoro has denied any wrongdoing. In a video statement recorded over the weekend, he insisted that he had properly led the investigation into the girl’s death and that his team had seized firearms and drugs from the suspects.

He claimed that the suspects’ family accused him of taking Rp 6.6 billion ($405,961) in bribes only after learning that the criminal proceedings against Arif and Bayu would continue.

"I never took any payment from the suspects," Bintoro stated. "I challenge investigators to search my home and inspect my wife’s and children’s bank accounts to prove the bribery allegations."

Bintoro also said that his video was recorded while he was being detained by the Jakarta Police’s Internal Security Division, and that his cellphone had already been confiscated.

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