TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Fact-finding team on Novel acid attack urgent
It has been more than 100 days since the acid attack on senior investigator Novel Baswedan of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Change Size
It has been more than 100 days since the acid attack on senior investigator Novel Baswedan of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
I
t has been more than 100 days since the acid attack on senior investigator Novel Baswedan of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Progress in the police investigation to reveal the mastermind and actors behind the crime has been too slow and unclear, leading to increasing suspicion of a lack of police commitment and political will to seriously find and drag the criminals to court.
Now we have a new mysterious, suspicious death of a businessman believed to be a key witness in a major corruption case that Novel was investigating: Johannes Marliem, 32, who was found dead early on Thursday in his home in Los Angeles, the United States.
In the Novel case, although police claim they have questioned over 50 witnesses and have collected some evidence from the crime scene of April 11, they have yet to name a suspect. The slow progress further increases doubts about police capability and professionalism in handling the Novel case.
From Singapore, where he is still struggling with his eye treatment, Novel made a shocking statement in an interview with Time magazine. He raised the possibility of a police general being involved in the attack, though he did not name names.
Novel’s statement should surely not be considered as a counterattack against the police as some have alleged, as he said he had already told everything he knew to investigators, several days after someone threw acid in his face.
Rumors that investigations have been hampered because of internal interference within the National Police seem to confirm Novel’s statement about the suspected involvement of a police general in the attack. Therefore, the police raise even further doubts by saying the perpetrators are hard to track down given the few pieces of evidence obtained.
The officer in charge of the investigation, then Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. M. Iriawan, was unexpectedly replaced, further reflecting internal police tension and impatience among the National Police leadership at the slow pace of the investigation.
