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Commission III chair defends police chief after another fatal police shooting
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National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo (left) talks with State Intelligence Agency (BIN) head Muhammad Herindra on Dec. 2, 2024, during a cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
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hair of the House of Representative’s Commission III overseeing law enforcement Habiburokhman has defended National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo amid growing calls for his removal and widespread reform within the institution as police brutality and extrajudicial killings become rampant.
The commission heard on Tuesday the confirmation from Central Kalimantan Police Head Insp. Gen. Djoko Poerwanto regarding the alleged involvement of Brig. Anton Kurniawan in the killing of an expedition driver identified by his initials BA.
The victim’s body was found in a state of advanced decomposition in an oil palm plantation in Katingan regency earlier this month, and an ethics hearing found AK was involved in the murder, leading to his dismissal from the force and his naming as a suspect.
Djoko explained during Tuesday’s meeting that Anton, who was under the influence of drugs, had allegedly shot BA twice before dumping his body on the side of the road and ordering someone to steal the victim’s car. The incident occurred on Jl. Tjilik Riwut in the Sei Gohong sub-district of Bukit Batu district, Palangkaraya city, in the morning of Nov. 27.
The suspect was charged under Article 364 Paragraph 4 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on aggravated theft and Article 338 on murder with a maximum punishment of life in prison or the death penalty. Djoko subsequently conveyed his condolences to the victim’s family and his apologies on behalf of the Central Kalimantan police.
Read also: C. Kalimantan Police dishonorably discharge officer over murder case
Activists have recently called for a thorough reform of the National Police and demanded more accountability from the force following a string of police brutality that led to the deaths of many innocent civilians. A report from Amnesty International Indonesia found at least 116 recorded cases of police brutality nationwide this year, including 29 extrajudicial killings.
