Corruption: Police officers under the cloud?

In a society where bribery and corruption is taking place at an alarming rate, what can the civil society do to wipe them out?

According to the Director General of the Commission to investigate Bribery or Corruption

Piyasena Ranasinghe, the public, who are highly affected, should not tolerate bribery and corruption, which is now at its monstrous level.

In an interview with the Sunday Observer Ranasinghe said that the Police officers were the highly bribe-taking segment in society, according to the complaints received and arrests made by the Commission.

Here are excerpts of the interview:

Q: The latest COPE report has revealed the names of the State institutions, which are involved in corruption. Could you tell us about the progress made in investigating these state institutions?

A: We have not yet started investigations. The report has been sent to the Legal Division of the Commission to make their observations on what grounds that we can conduct investigations. And also we have to get down the necessary documents from the Auditor General's Department and also from the Court. Then only we can decide that there are enough material to conduct investigations under the Bribery Act. We had received the report 14 days ago. It is in brief and it does not carry all the details about each allegation. It contains the observations and recommendations of the COPE. They have also stated about malpractices in these institutions. So, first we have to consider the instances where the Commission has power to investigate under the Act.

Q: The Commission has also been assigned to probe the controversial MiG deal. Have you already initiated investigations on this deal?

A: Yes. We have commenced investigations.

Q: There is an allegation that of those who are netted by the Commission, the majority are people, who engaged in minor acts of bribery but those who are well-known for bribery and corruption are let scott free. Is it true?

A: We receive complaints about all of them. We do not go behind sprats or sharks. We conduct investigations when complaints are made. We can act only when there is a complaint. If we do not receive any complaint about big people we can do nothing. In the recent past we have filed cases against a number of big people in the country. People may think that we have not prosecuted politicians but the Commission has taken steps to nab politicians too. When we receive a complaint, we do not go by the social status of the people. We do not bother about their party or any other differences. We would initiate investigations if there are enough evidence without taking into account their caste or creed.

If we did not receive a compliant against a big person and if there are no evidence, the Commission can do nothing. At the end there should be evidence to proceed with the complaint to bring the culprits before the law.

Q: Do you think that the Commission is an independent body free from political influences?

A: Yes, we are free from any political influence. The Commission is not politically influenced or interfered with over any case. On the other hand, under the Act the Commission has powers to act independently. So this means that the Commission members can act independently without fear or any favour. That is guaranteed under the Act.

But we are not financially independent and we have to depend on the Treasury or the budget. We are not independent in the sense that we do not have our own staff. We have to depend on the Police Department. Under the Act there are no provisions for us to recruit our own investigation staff.

Q: Bribery and corruption are rampart in the country. Do you observe any change in this during the recent past?

A: When compared with the past, in bribery and corruption have increased. According to the Transparency International survey too, an bribery and corruption have increased.

This is so, especially in the public sector. One or two public officers will be netted every week for charges on bribery. Compared to last year we have received more complaints on bribery this year. What I can say is that there is an increase in bribery and corruption in the public sector now.

Q: According to your assessment what are the major reasons that have contributed to this increase?

A: There may be lots of reasons. One major reason is that people who cannot meet the daily financial burden would be engaged in bribery and corruption to meet their needs. They may be compelled to take bribes due to their poor financial situation. The other reason is the greed of people to earn more.

Today people have high hopes and to achieve them they are ready to earn more by any means. Most of them want to become rich soon and want to lead luxury lives. This major change is due to the change in the lifestyles. The other reason is that they think that they would escape the law easily.

Q: Does this mean that people lack legal knowledge?

A: No. The majority are well aware of the law but at the same time they know that chances of getting caught is very much low. So they are not scared.

On the other hand they are also aware that though they are caught, chances of going scot-free are high. So they are not scared of getting involved in bribery and corruption.

Q: According to the investigations of the Commission, who are the most corrupted segment of people in the country? To what extent do the politicians, public servants and security forces engage in bribery and corruption ?

A: Actually we cannot say exactly who are the most corrupted. According to the figures and investigations conducted so far the police officers are the public servants who are netted frequently for bribery. But this does not imply that the Police Department is the most corrupt institution in the public sector. There may be some other institutions which have more corrupt public servants but people do not come forward to complain against them.

This is mainly because the police are directly involved with the public and they are in the scene. When a police officer asks for money from a poor man he tends to lodge a complaint. There are other institutions where both the parties are benefited. I do not like to mention the names of these institutions but when both parties are benefited the other party would not come forward to complain as they have already reaped the benefit out of offering the bribe. That is why we do not receive complaints against such officers. Poor people are the victims of the scourge of bribery who are affected directly in the hands of officials attached to the institutions such as the Police, the health sector institutions and the judicial system.

I am pinpointing the police officers for bribery, going by the com complaints we received and the arrests that we made so far. We receive quite a high number of complaints against police officers and they have also been arrested for bribery. However, this does not mean that the whole police force are corrupt.

Q: How many top people, who are charged with bribery and corruption, are in your net?

A: We have investigated a number of top people and some investigations that we carry out against them are on their disproportionate income. We also investigate complaints regarding their assets which were acquired by them. These assets are far beyond their income. The Commission is in the process of investigating these complaints. We had filed two cases against top politicians. One asset trial against a politician is still in Courts. Apart from that we have filed cases against Pradeshiya Sabha Chairmen, top Police officers and school principals.

Q: Has the Commission incorporated the set of proposals submitted by the UNDP in the action plan to streamline the Commission's activities?

A: There was a project, under UNDP, to strengthen the Commission's activities. Under this project we got down an expert who was the former Director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, Singapore. He studied our law and after meeting several experts here had submitted the report to us. We have studied that report and have taken some steps to carry out some recommendations given by him. He has recommended to amend the Bribery Act and the Commission Act and we had discussed the matter. He has also recommended to change the composition of the Commission.

Q: It is a well-known fact that the majority of politicians are corrupt and engage in bribery. How many complaints has the Commission received against them?

A: As far as bribery charges are concerned we do not get much complaints against politicians. We do receive complaints on bribery, corruption and accumulation of wealth. We rarely receive complaints against politicians for bribery. We have very recently received complaints against a Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman, a Pradeshiya Sabha member, a Mayor and a Deputy Mayor but not against any MPs involved in bribery. Disproportionate income is the common complaint that is levelled against the politicians.

Q: Do you think that the Public are really interested in prevention bribery and corruption?

A: Yes. They are. Earlier we did not receive complaints against school principals. But in the recent past we have received several complaints against school principals. We were able to arrest some principals and teachers while accepting bribes for admission.

Q: People talk more about bribery and corruption. Are you satisfied with the action taken by the Commission to prevent them?

A: Yes. With limited resources we are doing a good job. But I cannot be satisfied with our achievements when comparing ours with other countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore. We are far behind these countries. Compared to those two countries we have lots of corruption. To minimise corruption we have to have a political commitment, all the political parties and politicians should join hands. They should also set examples to the common people. Here the media could play a vital role by exposing deals in which bribery and corruption have played a part and naming those who are involved in these underhand deals. On the other hand the civil society should also come to the scene and they should take a firm stand against bribery and corruption. Here the independent judiciary is also important to keep bribery and corruption at bay.

What I say is that everyone should be against this evil. The Commission alone cannot struggle against bribery and corruption.

It is not easy for us alone to minimise bribery and corruption in the country.

Lots of people are talking about corruption in State institutions but the problem is that they do not come forward because they are helpless. Sometimes public officers are also helpless and sometimes they are in fear of being transferred or harassed after exposing them. So they tend to tolerate. This should be changed if the country wants to minimise bribery and corruption.

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