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.
Report filed against lawmaker
Herman Hery (tribunnews
Change Size
Herman Hery (tribunnews.com)
A member of the House of Representatives, Herman Hery, has been reported to the South Jakarta Police for allegedly beating Ronny Kosasih Yuliarto and his wife on the side of a South Jakarta road on June 10.
The incident reportedly occurred at around 9:30 p.m. when Ronny, who had been driving with his wife, two children and their domestic helper, was being ticketed by a traffic police officer for driving in a Transjakarta bus lane.
Herman, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician, had reportedly been driving his Rolls-Royce behind Ronny in the same lane.
Without warning, Herman allegedly got out of his car and attacked Ronny. According to Ronny’s lawyer Febby Sagita, the lawmaker might have gotten impatient with the ticketing process.
Surprised by the assault, Ronny fought back, reportedly prompting Herman’s aides to exit the Rolls-Royce and begin beating Ronny as well.
Ronny’s wife stepped in to try and stop the fight, but was allegedly attacked by both Herman and his aides. Their children, aged 7 and 10, witnessed the incident from inside the car. The two traffic police officers who had ticketed Ronny initially did nothing to intervene, Febby said.
One officer, however, later held Ronny back and reportedly asked him to drive to Pondok Indah Mosque, where both parties could settle the matter. However, neither the police nor Herman showed up at the mosque, Febby said, underlining that Ronny had not known who Herman was.
With the help of his friends who were members of a local automotive club, Ronny tracked down Herman’s car and discovered that he was a lawmaker.
It was not hard to find him, as Rolls-Royce cars were quite rare in the city, Febby said.
“The victim took a picture of the Rolls-Royce during the incident. The club members then told him that the car belonged to Herman. After researching Herman on the internet, Ronny was able to confirm that [the lawmaker] was the one who had attacked him.”
Ronny reported the incident to the South Jakarta Police on June 11 and submitted evidence, including the traffic ticket he received and results of a medical examination from Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta.
According to South Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Indra Jafar, investigators questioned the two traffic police officers who allegedly witnessed the assault and did nothing.
“We are upholding the principle of presumption of innocence while continuing the investigation,” Indra said on Thursday.
The police are set to question Ronny and his wife on Monday.
Herman, who is currently abroad, has denied the accusation. According to his lawyer, Petrus Selestinus, the lawmaker had not been driving on June 10.
He said he believed Ronny had wrongly identified Herman.
“[The victim] didn’t check whether it was Herman, the lawmaker, who beat him. We will report him to the police for defamation,” Petrus said.
The House’s ethics council received a report regarding the case and will communicate with the police to confirm whether Herman was behind the attack, said council member Sufmi Dasco Ahmad.
In late 2015, Herman was reported to the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Police by Adj. Sr. Comr. Albert Neno, who claimed Herman had threatened, insulted and defamed him on the phone for conducting a liquor raid on a restaurant Herman owned.
A civil group called Masyarakat NTT also reported Herman to the House’s ethics council. Herman denied the accusation, saying his staff member Ronny Bunga had phoned Albert about the liquor raid.
Herman claimed residents had complained to him about Albert’s methods in carrying out the raids across NTT, so he tried to reach out to Albert to discuss the issue.
He also denied rumors that the police had confiscated his liquor and tried to return it. In January, Herman publicly apologized to Albert.
In 2013, former Democratic Party treasurer M Nazaruddin accused Herman of accepting kickbacks in a graft case involving a driving simulator procurement project led by the National Police. Herman also denied the accusation.
