The body of Widianto Rizky Ramadhan was laid to rest at the Karet Bivak public cemetery in Central Jakarta next to his mother’s tomb. The 17-year-old vocational school student died on Wednesday in a riot in Petamburan.

Rama, as his family and friends called him, died from gunshot wounds to the front of his neck, according to his family. The news of his death came as a shock to his grandmother Halimah, who recalled her grandson as being a diligent student and intern at a mall in West Jakarta. Rama lived with Halimah in her house on Jl. Haji Raisun in Palmerah, after his mother died. His father and brothers lived separately.

“He was a healthy boy. He weighed around 100 kilograms. He was also smart. He was oftentimes ranked top of his class,” Halimah told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, reminiscing about her grandson, whom she said never publicly expressed political support for either Joko “Jokowi” Widodo or Prabowo Subianto.

He did not get to vote for the first time either as he had not yet obtained an ID card, Halimah added.

She said although he preferred staying at home as opposed to going out with his friends, he left the house after sahur (predawn meal) on Wednesday morning. Neighbors his age went to his house and invited him to go to Petamburan, where protests were taking place after a similar protest was staged in front of the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu).

She and other family members initially forbade him from going, but Rama insisted on leaving. Halimah said her grandson did not have any bad intentions and believed he would help any injured victims.

“Instead, he was the one who got shot and died,” she said. The family refused to allow an autopsy to be conducted on the body.

“I no longer care who the president is. Politics will never bring my grandson back to life,” the 68-year-old added.

The fatal riots came after election protests staged by supporters of losing presidential candidate Prabowo escalated following an announcement from the General Elections Commission (KPU) early on Tuesday that the incumbent Jokowi had won the 2019 presidential election. Thousands of protesters took to the streets Tuesday afternoon, protesting the result, which they claimed was orchestrated.

Another victim of the riots was Adam Nooryan, a budding barista at a coffee shop in North Jakarta who was pronounced dead at Tarakan Hospital in Central Jakarta at 5 a.m. on Wednesday. His father Nurwarsito, 42, claimed that gunshot wounds killed his 18-year-old son.

Nurwarsito never imagined that the man he supported during the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election would help lift the coffin of his son.

He and his wife, Yuliana, 40, were only made aware of Adam’s participation in the protest after they visited his body at the hospital. There, they met Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, who later that day visited and sent a flower board to their house in Sawah Lio, West Jakarta.

“On Tuesday night, Adam told me he would join the protest the next day. However, he actually snuck out at around 1 a.m., when we were all sleeping,” he told the Post.

He said Adam planned to be a bystander in the Wednesday protest with his neighborhood friends, just like when he joined the massive 212 sectarian rally in 2016 — which demanded the prosecution of then-Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama for blasphemy, contributing to Anies’ victory in the 2017 gubernatorial election.

Nurwarsito said that, according to Adam’s friends, Adam was in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, and about to go home when he was allegedly shot.

“We saw three holes in Adam’s back and one in his chest. The doctor alleged that they might have been caused by a close-range shooting. We weren’t told who did it, though,” he said.

He went on to say that the family did not agree to an autopsy but would let the police handle the case.

“He was waiting for his first salary as a barista. He said he wanted to buy Idul Fitri clothes for me and his younger brother,” Nurwarsito said.

Anies announced on Thursday that the riots claimed eight lives and injured more than 700 residents. Besides Rama and Adam, other casualties are Farhan Syafero, 31, M. Reyhan Fajari, 16, Abdul Ajiz, 27, Bachtiar Alamsyah, 23, and Sandro, 31. Another victim, meanwhile, remains unidentified. Anies refused to reveal the causes of the deaths amid the police’s ongoing investigation.

The victims died at different hospitals in either Central or West Jakarta, namely Tarakan Hospital, Budi Kemuliaan Hospital, Pelni Hospital, Dharmais Hospital and Mintoharjo Navy Hospital.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said that, based on the investigation, four people died from stab wounds during the riots.

“Some died of stab wounds. There were four of them. Please don’t twist this,” he said on Wednesday as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com, stressing that police officers were not carrying firearms but tear gas. (ars)

— Sausan Atika contributed to this story

Popular

Volcano erupts in North Sulawesi, hundreds evacuated

Dubai roads, airport reel from floods after record rains

Ramadan boosts consumer confidence, retail sales