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Cirebon murder suspect released after court grants pretrial motion
Judge Eman Sulaeman argued that the police made several mistakes during Pegi's investigative processes, including failing to question Pegi before naming him as a suspect. The name of “Pegi Setiawan, alias Perong” was on the police’s wanted list for eight years.
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Supporters sign banners after the postponement of Pegi Setiawan's pretrial hearing at the Bandung District Court, 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 due to the absence of a respondent from the West Java Police. (ANTARA/Novrian Arbi)
P
egi Setiawan, a 27-year-old man who was recently apprehended for allegedly masterminding a 2016 double-murder in Cirebon, West Java, has won a pretrial challenge against his arrest and the charges he faced.
The Bandung High Court in West Java made the decision on Monday, instructing the West Java Police in charge of the case to stop all investigations into Pegi and immediately release him from detention.
Judge Eman Sulaeman argued that the police made several mistakes during Pegi's investigative processes, including failing to question Pegi before naming him as a suspect. The name of “Pegi Setiawan, alias Perong” was on the police’s wanted list for eight years.
“Authorities also never issued any summons letter for Pegi, so he did not know that he was wanted by the police [before the arrest],” Eman said, as reported by Tempo.co.
The construction worker was arrested in May in relation to the killing of 16-year-old couple, Vina Dewi Arsita and Muhammad Rizky Rudiana, on Aug. 27. 2016, the investigation into which appeared to be marred by irregularities.
Read also: Police arrest murder suspect after old case goes viral
The police at first said that a motorcycle crash was the cause of the couple’s death, before revising it to gang rape and murder, following protests from Vina’s family who saw no sign of a fatal accident at the scene.
