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Jakarta Post

Pieces still missing from Pulo Mas killing puzzle

With latest arrest on Thursday, total of three suspects have been arrested, one shot dead One other suspect still at large

Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, December 30, 2016

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Pieces still missing from Pulo Mas killing puzzle Zanette Kalila Azaira bursts into tears upon seeing the body of her father, Dodi Triono, buried at Tanah Kusir Cemetery, South Jakarta on Dec. 28. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)

T

he police’s swift investigation into the deaths of six people in Pulo Mas, East Jakarta, on Tuesday has won public praise, but there are still lingering questions surrounding the case that has kept the pressure on investigators to uncover another motive behind the crime.

On Wednesday night, the police arrested another suspect, Alfins Bernius Sinaga. Hours earlier, a dramatic raid in Bekasi, West Java, led to the police shooting to death Ramlan Butar Butar, who already had a criminal record and was allegedly the leader of the gang. Another suspect, Erwin Situmorang is at the Jakarta Police’s detention center. The police are now hunting down the last suspect, identified as Yus Pane.

Despite the police’s promptness in arresting the alleged perpetrators, some big questions have remained unanswered in the case, especially when it comes to whether robbery was the only motive.

The police said the crime, which occurred inside a luxurious house in an upscale housing complex, was a robbery, but they could not specify what valuables had been taken except for two bags containing a Rolex watch and some foreign money worth more than Rp 60 million (US$4,500).

Questions have emerged suggesting that the amount of the stolen items and money were “too small” for a “professional” robbery led by a high-profile recidivist like Ramlan.

Dodi Triono, a 59-year-old architect who owned the house and was also killed in the incident, has been depicted as a billionaire given his luxury home and sports cars.

Bambang Widodo Umar, a criminal law expert with the University of Indonesia, said being quick in arresting the suspects was important, but investigators should also be able to answer questions from the public.

“[If many questions remain unanswered] that means the police have yet to uncover the real motives, or they have yet to collect sufficient evidence,” Bambang told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He said investigators should be able to explore more possibilities, such as whether the victims had been killed because of business competition or other possible motives, such as whether family matters or revenge could have also had roles.

Bambang, who is also a retired high-ranking police officer, said people could have been hired to commit the crimes.

Dodi’s daughters Diona Arika Andra Putri and Dianita Gemma Dzalfayla, as well as the girls’ friend, Amel, and the family’s drivers, Yanto and Tasrok, were also killed.

The police said a medical test confirmed the six died by asphyxiation after being locked inside a 2.25-square-meter bathroom for more than 17 hours. Dodi’s daughter from his second marriage, Zanette Kalila Azaria, as well as some domestic helpers who were also locked in the bathroom, survived.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Raden Prabowo Argo Yuwono said the door of the room in which the victims were locked was hard to break. The police who came with local residents used a crowbar to open the door.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Mochamad Iriawan said Ramlan was shot dead after he resisted arrest and tried to attack the police using a machete.

“We have been able to detect the whereabouts of the fourth suspect. He is now on the outskirts of Jakarta,” Iriawan said.

The police claimed that CCTV footage recorded Yus Pane dragging Diona from her room upstairs.

Dodi lived in the house with two of his daughters from his second wife, from whom he was divorced. The police said they would question Dodi’s new third wife, Agnesya Kalangi, who was living in a separate house from him, to learn about Dodi’s life prior to his death.

“We will surely find out what Dodi was doing: all things related to his daily life,” Iriawan said. “We will question her [Agnesya].”

Iriawan claimed the suspects had stated they had chosen the house randomly, meaning that they had allegedly robbed Dodi’s house because they saw an “opportunity because they found the gate unlocked”.

“But we will not just believe what they say. We will dig deeper,” Iriawan said.

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