The East Makassar Police have refused to reinvestigate the murder of four-year-old Syiva following the Supreme Court's decision to acquit four suspects originally found guilty by a lower court.
"We will not reinvestigate the case because, based on existing evidence, we're convinced they are the perpetrators," East Makassar Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Kamaruddin said Tuesday.
As evidence, Kamaruddin said sperm was found on Syiva's body, indicating the possibility of rape.
He admitted police have not yet conducted a DNA test to determine whose sperm it is.
His department supports the decision by the Makassar Prosecutor's Office to file a case review against the Supreme Court decision, Kamaruddin said.
"We will support and help prosecutors find new evidence to file for a case review."
Makassar chief prosecutor Isa Ansyari said his office would have to study the court's ruling, which he had yet to receive as of Tuesday. The Supreme Court ruling was issued on July 31.
"We're not certain about the contents of the ruling because we haven't received the letter yet. We will decide later whether we'll file for a case review or not," he added.
"We have to have new proof if we do intend to file for a case review."
Kamaruddin denied the police had mistakenly arrested, detained and named the convicted men as suspects, saying solid evidence existed in the form of witness testimony, autopsy results from a forensic lab and a number of clues.
A panel of Makassar District Court judges found the suspects -- Hamka, 15, Sudirman Yusuf, 16, and Ibrahim Tutu, 18 -- guilty beyond doubt in the murder of Syiva, he added. The ruling was supported by the South Sulawesi High Court.
At trial, prosecutors produced investigators as witnesses to verify the content of controversial police investigations.
"If we had actually arrested and named them as suspects mistakenly, we would be facing an inquiry, but that's not the case," Kamaruddin said.
"The court found them guilty. That means no one was mistaken in the investigation. And that was verified in court. The Supreme Court only works based on reports."
The notion that police arrested the wrong suspects was a pack of lies, as were accusations the police tortured the suspects during interrogations, Kamaruddin added.
In response, the East Makassar Police will conduct an inquiry to determine who spread the false reports, he said.
"The police are a reformed institution and this is no longer an era of torture and excessive force. Furthermore, the police don't need to obtain confessions from suspects -- the only thing needed is proof. We regard them *these accusations* as lies and we will find out who spread them," he added. -- JP/Andi Hajramurni
