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Police detain 90 people after Sumbawa riot
Violence and rumors violence: A resident stares at a burning building during a riot on Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara, on Tuesday
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span class="inline inline-none">Violence and rumors violence: A resident stares at a burning building during a riot on Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara, on Tuesday. The riot, which led to the destruction of 35 houses, was sparked by a rumor that circulated through text messages. (Antara/Ikhsan)
West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Police are holding 90 people believed to have been involved in anarchy and looting during Tuesday’s riot in Sumbawa Besar, Sumbawa regency, and are still looking for the ringleaders.
“The Sumbawa Police have detained as many as 90 people involved in the riot, but the instigators are still being sought,” said NTB Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Sukarman Husein in Mataram on Thursday.
According to him, the 90 detainees will be charged under Article 170 (183) of the Criminal Code on joint vandalism and arson and some of them will be charged under articles 363 and 362 of the code on theft.
Based on police data, the riot in Sumbawa Besar caused damage to at least 35 homes while several shops were looted before being set on fire. One hotel was gutted. Three cars and a number of motorcycles were burned.
Sukarman said the current situation in Sumbawa Besar had returned to normal, but police officers and Army personnel were still on guard at strategic locations to maintain security.
The riot was sparked by rumors that claimed that Brig. I Gede Eka Swarjana, 31, of the Sumbawa Police, had assaulted and killed Sumbawa resident Arniyati, 30. The two were known to have been lovers. Arniyati was a civil servant at the Sumbawa Population Agency and studying at Samawa University (Unsa).
On Monday at 12 p.m., a number of Unsa students and Arniyati’s relatives rallied in front of Sumbawa Police headquarters, demanding clarification as to the cause of her death. The police said that Arniyati died in a traffic accident. The crowd was not satisfied with the explanation, and rumors began to circulate that Arniyati had been killed after being beaten and raped.
Sukarman said the accident in which Arniayati was killed took place on Saturday evening at around 11 p.m. local time on the Sumbawa-Kanar highway near a shrimp pond in Empang hamlet, Labuhan Badas district, Sumbawa.
The victim, who was riding pillion with Swarjana, was traveling to Sumbawa but, as they approached the shrimp pond, the motorcycle skidded and fell. Arniyati died in the accident, while Swarjana suffered fractures and is currently being treated at the Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Mataram.
“The cause of her death was purely an accident. The victim and her lover were of different faiths, so residents became easily provoked after hearing the false rumors,” said Sukarman.
He said Swarjana was questioned following the accident and has been charged under Article 356 of the Criminal Code on negligence leading to loss of life.
NTB Governor Zainul Majdi led a coordination meeting on Wednesday at the Sumbawa regency office together with Wirabhakti Regional Military Command chief Col. Zulfardi Junin, Sumbawa Regent Jamaludin Malik and a number of the regency’s leading community and religious figures. Participants at the meeting discussed the root of the issue leading to the riot and the aim to seek a joint solution.
NTB provincial spokesman Tri Budi Prayitono said in Mataram that the meeting resulted in, among other things, a decision to examine Arniyati’s body to determine the cause of her death.
“The autopsy will be conducted by an independent medical team,” said Tri.
Based on data from the Sumbawa regency administration, as many as 2,261 members of the Balinese ethnic group have taken refuge in a number of locations, including the Sumbawa Police station, Sumbawa Military District Command and Sultan Kaharuddin Airport.
