Details shared by police investigators could point to homicide. 

Arya Daru Pangayunan was found on his bed with his head wrapped tightly in yellow duct tape and covered in a plastic bag. 

And despite the implausibility of someone conducting an autoerotic asphyxiation by wrapping duct tape around their head, police investigators handling the case have insisted that the diplomat’s death was a case of suicide. 

The suicide theory does not seem to hold water, especially as Arya appeared to be happily anticipating his new posting to Helsinki, Finland. He had been planning with his wife and CCTV footage obtained by the police showed he was shopping for new clothes for the assignment. 

Footage taken from a CCTV installed inside Arya’s rented room in Central Jakarta showed no sign of distress or strange behavior shortly before he was found dead only hours later.

In an official announcement on Tuesday, the Jakarta Police stopped short of saying whether the diplomat had committed suicide, but investigators appeared to stick to the suicide narrative. 

Police backed up the claim with an analysis of Arya’s email history revealing that he had contacted mental health services in 2013 and 2021.

But even if we can set aside so many loose ends, including the fact that police investigators still have not found Arya's cell phone or that the CCTV footage from the night of his death appears to have been edited, and buy into the police theory of a suicide, we have reasons to believe that the system failed the young diplomat.

Being a globe-trotting diplomat, despite having so many perks and privileges, comes with its own challenges. 

The need to settle into new environments, work long hours and be away from friends and family could break the morale of even steeliest young diplomat. 

And if the leadership of the Foreign Ministry accepts the police theory that Arya's death was suicide, the human resource department now must amp up its work to monitor the mental health of the ministry's rank and file.

But if it turns out that something more sinister was behind the death of the young diplomat, the Foreign Ministry could be dealing with a much bigger problem.

What if Arya was targeted by a non-state actor whose work was disrupted by the Indonesian government's efforts to crack down on human trafficking and online gambling or prostitution?

It was only in March that the government repatriated 569 Indonesian nationals who had fallen victims to online scam operations in Myanmar.

And if we are convinced that Arya was somehow targeted, many of his colleagues whose job is to protect the rights of Indonesian citizens abroad could also be in the crosshairs.

One of the primary tasks of the Foreign Ministry is to provide protection for Indonesian citizens abroad, but before doing this, it must protect the safety and well-being of its own diplomats.  

One life lost is too many.