Cop under investigation after allegedly telling a man he’d get him a police job in exchange for gay sex
Indonesian police on parade in the capital, Jakarta, in 2016. (Bay Ismoyo/AFP/Getty)
Indonesian police have launched an investigation into an officer who allegedly offered a man a job in exchange for a sexual relationship.
The officer in question is a member of the Probolinggo police force in Eastern Java, an area of Indonesia where homosexuality is technically legal but socially taboo.
The allegations against him were revealed on Facebook by a man named Bayuangga Probolinggo, who has since deleted the post.
Probolinggo published intimate photos of himself and the officer, claiming that he was deceived into the relationship with promises that the officer would help him get a job on the police force.
Scorned lover published intimate photos after police officer broke promise.
After the officer broke his promise to the man and threatened him, Probolinggo went public and published the photos.
Rather than looking into claims of extortion or bribery, East Java Police spokesperson Trunoyudho Wisnu Andiko said on Monday (April 20) that they would probe the allegations of deception against the police officer, as well as his sexual activities.
“The investigation is under way,” Trunoyudho told The Jakarta Post.
The investigation was initially being handled locally but was escalated to the the East Java police division as they apparently have better cybercrime unit facilities to trace the Facebook post.
Indonesia sees rise in police hostility towards LGBT+ people.
Indonesia is becoming increasingly intolerant towards LGBT+ people, with particular hostility being seen from the police in recent years.
In 2019 an officer who had served for a decade “with pride” in the Semarang police was dishonourably discharged when it was revealed that he was gay.
He had kept his sexuality a secret for years but was discovered when his fellow officers ambushed him on a date with his partner on Valentine’s Day.
The man, identified only as TT, sued for discrimination and unlawful dismissal but his lawsuit was rejected by the courts.
It recently emerged that several other Indonesian ministries have issued an outright ban on LGBT+ applicants, with the attorney general’s office declaring that it “only wants the normal ones, not the odd ones.”
