North Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Agus Andrianto said the police came to the conclusion after gathering evidence through an investigation. The police also found that five people had robbed the activist while helping him to the hospital.

“Our investigation shows that the victim died due to injuries sustained in a single-vehicle crash,” Agus said during a press conference on Friday, ruling out earlier speculation that the lawyer, who represented the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment’s (Walhi North Sumatra), had been a victim of a planned attack.

Golfried had lost contact with his family two weeks ago and was found severely injured on the side of the Simpang Pos Padang Bulan overpass in Medan. He died at Adam Malik Hospital on Oct. 6.

Agus said the police suspected Golfried had been operating his motorcycle under the influence of alcohol and might have also caused the accident after finding traces of alcohol in his system during an autopsy. Moreover, Agus also stated that the victim had fallen on his right side after hitting the pavement with his motorcycle, seeing that Golfried was only injured on the right side of his body.

“The victim’s body was tilted over by the time we found him. The right side of his head was on the concrete, and blood was coming out of it. We found his motorcycle in front of his body,” Agus said.

North Sumatra Police traffic unit head Sr. Comr. Juliani said Golfried’s motorcycle also sustained damages from the crash. The police specified that the right handlebar was scratched, the right tail light was broken, as well as its right shock breaker.

“These damages showed that the impact hits the right side of the vehicle,” Juliani said. He also reported injuries on the right side of the victim’s body.

The police have arrested three out of five suspects for allegedly stealing Golfried’s personal items upon helping him at the crime scene. One of the perpetrators saw Golfried lying down beside his motorcycle and took him to the hospital.

“They helped the victim, but they also had intentions to steal his belongings,” said Medan Police crime unit head Comr. Eko Hartanto.

Eko also explained that the perpetrators took two mobile phones and one laptop to sell.

Walhi North Sumatra director Dana Prima Tarigan urged the police to continue the investigation to determine the cause of Golfried’s death as soon as possible.

Dana said at the time of his death, Golfried was handling several high-profile cases.

The group is pressing charges against companies reportedly involved in illegal logging activities in Karo regency, river pollution allegedly caused by an oil palm plantation in Batubara regency, pollution allegedly caused by a steel and concrete company in Simalungun regency and alleged signature forgery in the environmental impact analysis (Amdal) for the Batang Toru hydropower plant project in South Tapanuli.

“The police should arrest whoever caused injuries to Golfried’s head,” said Dana, who is skeptical about the police’s findings.

Earlier, Walhi and the activist's relatives expressed doubt about the police report since Golfried’s motorcycle had been found without any damages to it.

"His head bore serious injuries as if it had been struck with a blunt object. His body oddly remained clean," Walhi North Sumatra member Roy Lumbangaol said.

Roy further said Golfried's skull had been fractured, requiring him to undergo surgery at the hospital.

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