JAKARTA

Leading Indonesian newsweekly Tempo reported on Monday that copies of its latest edition on rampant police corruption are being bought in bulk by plain-clothes officers before they reach newsstands.

Tempo magazine said on its website that mysterious buyers who looked like police were snapping up its June 28 edition — which has a cover story on police officers’ “fat bank accounts” — directly from distributors.

“One of Tempo’s main distributors in East Jakarta who ordered 700 copies said today the magazines have been entirely bought by non-uniformed police personnel at dawn before any of the copies went to paper booths,” it said.

“Copies for retail sales have vanished and many major distributors have complained.”

One officer reportedly had some US$10 million in a bank account.

The police force is seen as one of the most corrupt institutions in the country, which is ranked among the most corrupt in the world, according to watchdog Transparency International.

Tempo quoted a police spokesman as denying any knowledge of police involvement in bulk purchases of this week’s edition.