T

he Jakarta Military Command (Kodam Jaya) has announced that four Army members were arrested for their alleged involvement in a string of brutal assaults on April 13 that left one man dead and at least eight others injured.

“The four were arrested on April 18. They are identified as First Pvt. MK, Chief Pvt. M, Second Sgt. JT, and Second Sgt. YP,” Kodam Jaya spokesman Col. Inf. Andrian Ponto told reporters on Friday.

He also said all four were members of the Air Defense Artillery (Arhanud) 6 Battalion, stationed in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

On Thursday, city police revealed that North Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Andap Budhi Revianto and Pademangan precinct chief Comr. Ahmad David were sacked on Wednesday — the day the soldiers were arrested.

Kodam Jaya chief Maj. Gen. Waris said that he would severely punish the soldiers for the crimes they allegedly committed.

“They will be jailed, there should be no question about that. Their promotions in ranks will also be postponed,” he said.

The military police were still questioning the soldiers on Friday.

Andrian said the military police were trying to confirm if other members of the military were involved.

“We hope that no other soldiers are involved. But if there are, they will also be arrested and questioned,” Andrian said.

He said no physical evidence was seized from the detained soldiers.

He alleged that the four admitted to participating in the assaults “out of solidarity” with their friend, Navy First Seaman Arifin Sirih, who was killed in a fight in Pademangan, North Jakarta, on March 31.

In the early hours of April 13, a series of attacks took place at seven locations across North and Central Jakarta, leaving at least eight people injured and one dead.

The final attack happened at around 3 a.m. on Jl. Pramuka, with Anggi Darmawan and Nendy Haryanto being the last of the victims. Two motorcycles were burnt and three others were destroyed in the attack.

Anggi died of severe hemorrhaging eight hours later, at the nearby Cempaka Putih Islamic Hospital.

A group of “bikers” also vandalized a 7-Eleven convenience store on nearby Jl. Salemba Raya, attacking and robbing customers before damaging several motorcycles parked in front of the store.

Police have confirmed that the attack, along with two similar incidents that happened on consecutive days a week earlier, was retaliation for Arifin’s killing.

It was reported that the men behind all three attacks were similar in appearance, with athletic builds and crew cuts. Police have also revealed that the assailants used military lingo when addressing each other.

Rumors that four soldiers were arrested for their involvement in the assaults have been circulating for several days.

But both the police and the military repeatedly denied they were true until Friday’s announcement.

Separately, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said that he hoped the arrest of the four soldiers could be a breakthrough to confirm the possible involvement of any other soldiers in the attacks.

“Hopefully, we can use testimonies from the four soldiers to dig deeper into the case,” he said.

So far, the police have named one man as suspect in the Arifin’s killing: A university student identified as JRR, 22.

Rikwanto said the police have questioned seven people as witnesses in the investigation of the case.

Police have also identified several others believed to be have been JRR’s accomplices in the attack.

Rikwanto, however, refused to reveal their identities.