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.
Cirebon murder suspect’s arrest in question after Kontras report
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Supporters sign banners after the postponement of Pegi Setiawan's pretrial hearing at the Bandung District Court in West Java on June 24, 2024. Judges postponed the initial hearing of the pretrial lawsuit filed by Pegi’s attorney for being named a suspect in the Vina Cirebon murder case in response to the absence of a respondent from the West Java Police. (ANTARA/Novrian Arbi)
A
recent report from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) maintains that the police made multiple wrongful arrests last year, casting a shadow over the recent detention of a suspect in a high-profile murder case from 2016.
According to the Kontras report, which was published on Monday to coincide with the 78th anniversary of the National Police, the law enforcement institution carried out at least 15 wrongful arrest incidents since July of last year, involving 23 victims.
One of the victims was a 35-year-old man identified only as B from Sukabumi, West Java, who was accused of theft as he appeared to have parked his car in front of a convenience store where a robbery was taking place.
B was arrested on Nov. 9, 2023, a day after the looting, after the police reportedly forced him to confess to the crime by beating and kicking him and burning his skin with a cigarette.
Authorities eventually let B go after his wife explained that she and their children had been inside the parked car at the time of the incident. The wife said they were merely taking a rest after a long drive from out of town.
Read also: Police commit 15 wrongful arrests in past year: Kontras
Another victim was a 29-year-old man from Ambon, Maluku, named Karim Raharusun, who was accused of stealing several mobile phones on Nov. 18, 2023.
