ONE and a half hours after presiding over the handover ceremony of nine new regional police chiefs, on Thursday last week, Police Chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri looked hale and hearty. Meeting with Tempo reporters for 30 minutes after the event, he looked like a man who needed nothing.

A week earlier, on Friday, August 13, Bambang Hendarso was a topic of conversation and speculation. He never showed up at the scheduled transfer of command