•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

The Ministry of Defense claims that three of its personnel caught using ministry buses to transport 93 refugees who were attempting to make their way to Australia were not guilty of criminal offenses but only of breaching the ministry’s disciplinary code.

Brig. Gen. I Wayan Widhi, spokesman for the ministry, said on Thursday that the two civilian staff and one soldier posted to the ministry would face “administrative sanctions” for their roles in the alleged people-smuggling operation, which was busted by police in Ujung Genteng, West Java. Unlike soldiers, Defense Ministry staff can face criminal charges.

Wayan said the Military Police were searching for the alleged ringleader, whom he identified as Prasetyo, but could not say whether he was posted at the ministry or was a soldier.

Wayan said the three suspects, who were being questioned by Bogor Military Police, had said Prasetyo had asked them if they could use the ministry’s buses to transport the refugees from Bogor in West Java to Ujung Genteng on the south coast of the province. Prasetyo had allegedly told the suspects he was a soldier serving at the military headquarters based in Cilangkap, East Java.

“They believed it because Prasetyo wore military trousers and shoes and a green shirt of the kind used by a soldier,” Wayan said. “Prasetyo said the buses would be used for transporting people. But he did not mention who the people were to the three suspects.”

Prasetyo managed to avoid arrest when the convoy of buses was raided by Sukabumi Police.

Wayan said a quick initial investigation had not uncovered the involvement of senior government officials.

The refugees were mostly Afghans and Iranians. Two of them held tourist visas, while the rest carried documents from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The group included four women and three children.