Indonesian city targets pot-bellied police

TANGERANG, Indonesia (AFP) - Overweight policemen in an Indonesian city have been ordered to join an exercise programme as many of them are currently too slow to catch fleeing criminals.

"The pot-bellied police run too slow," Mr Wahyu Widada, police chief of Tangerang, near the capital Jakarta, told AFP.

Around 130 officers deemed excessively overweight out of the 1,473-strong force will undertake compulsory physical exercise three times a week for a total of four-and-a-half hours.

The exercise programme includes aerobics and running, he said.