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The spat between the Witness and Victim Protection Agency and the National Police over the detention of high-profile whistle-blower Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji took another turn on Monday as the president was asked to enter the fray.

Abdul Haris Semendawai, chairman of the agency also known as the LPSK, said he had sent a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asking him to mediate after the National Police refused to relinquish custody of Susno to the agency.

“There is a conflict of authority between the LPSK and the National Police over the protection of whistle bowers. We hope the president can help us find middle ground,” Abdul Haris said.

Susno had been granted protective custody from the LPSK after he claimed to have received death threats while in a Mobile Brigade (Brimob) detention facility on the outskirts of Jakarta.

The Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force has said Susno’s testimony was indispensable in unravelling corruption and case brokering inside the National Police, while the police maintain that the former chief of detectives is a suspect in other cases and must be held in their custody.

“Susno has the right to personal security. He doesn’t feel safe inside his detention cell in the Kelapa Dua Mobile Brigade headquarters, and fears that police could kill him,” Abdul Haris said.

But National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said that the LPSK’s request would not be granted because Susno had already been named a suspect and his transfer to an LPSK safe house could jeopardize the investigation.

Susno was first charged in an arowana fish farm bribery case based on testimony by suspected case broker Sjahril Johan, who claimed to have paid him Rp 500 million ($55,000).

A second allegation concerns claims that Susno siphoned off a portion of West Java’s election security fund when he served as the province’s police chief in 2008.

A third allegation is still under preliminary investigation, based on findings by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) over a suspicious transfer of Rp 3.8 billion into Susno’s bank accounts from his former lawyer.

Susno first got into trouble when he made allegations of his own, saying that top-ranking officials inside the National Police had received bribes to glaze over Gayus Tambunan’s money laundering and tax evasion case.

Susno’s remarks led to the arrest of two police officials, a judge at the Tangerang District Court as well as several members of the public. The allegations also increased pressure for reforms at the Directorate General of Taxation.

The National Police and the Attorney General’s Office also demoted some of their officials.

Bambang Widjojanto, a legal analyst at Trisakti University in Jakarta, said unless the 2006 Law on Witness Protection was amended, whistle-blowers will have second thoughts about coming forward.

“Corruption is often conducted behind closed doors and in absolute secrecy,” he said. “There should be a better mechanism within the LPSK to protect whistle-blowers.”

Task force member Mas Achmad Santosa said the team was hoping to amend the law, which stipulates a whistle-blower can only plead for leniency and not enter into plea-bargaining deals.

“The law does not describe leniency or what the LPSK’s role is in protecting a whistle-blower,” Achmad said. “We hope there will not be any more disputes like this. We will ensure that the LPSK is granted greater power.”

Susno first made corruption allegations against the police in March, but not until recently did the LPSK approve Susno’s request for protection.