The National Police Criminal Investigation Department, through its\nDirectorate of Certain Crimes (Dittipidter), has named five suspects in\nthe total power outage in Batam and Bintan Island, Riau Islands\n(Kepri).<\/p>\n
The suspects are four people from PLN Batam, identified by the\ninitials AWD, ZR, RB and DA, and a contractor identified as AIP.<\/p>\n
Their designation as suspects followed an investigation under Police\nReport No.\u00a0LP\/A 121\/X\/2026\/SPKT\/DITTIPIDTER\/BARESKRIM POLRI, dated 16\nOctober 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have named five people as suspects: four from PLN Batam and one\ncontractor,\u201d said Brigadier General Mohammad Irhamni, director of the\nCriminal Investigation Department\u2019s Directorate of Certain Crimes, at a\npress conference at the Riau Islands Police headquarters on Tuesday (20\nOctober).<\/p>\n
Irhamni said the decision followed a series of investigative steps,\nincluding an examination of the scene and a case review.<\/p>\n
Investigators have also questioned 25 criminal and forensic expert\nwitnesses, divided into two clusters. They found indications of\nnegligence in the blackout.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was negligence involving vital equipment by PLN staff. They\nshould have followed the standard operating procedure (SOP),\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The total power outage occurred at around 6.28am on Monday (12\nOctober) at the Sei Harapan substation in Sekupang district, Batam.<\/p>\n
Witnesses at the site, including operators on duty and security\nguards, heard a loud explosion coming from Transformer 1, caused by a\nshort circuit.<\/p>\n
Eight minutes later, at 6.36am, a widespread disruption to the\nelectricity supply led to a blackout in Batam and Bintan.<\/p>\n
A joint team from the Criminal Investigation Department\u2019s Directorate\nof Certain Crimes, the Riau Islands Police and the National Police\nForensic Laboratory examined the scene on Wednesday (14 October). The\ninspection found signs of melting on the 150 kV bushing of Transformer\n1. Nearby, investigators also found a live monkey with severe burn\ninjuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cInvestigators found a failure in Transformer 1\u2019s protection system.\nThe protection circuits, which should detect and isolate faults to\nprevent them from spreading, are strongly suspected of not operating in\naccordance with the standard operating procedure (SOP),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The suspects face multiple charges, including Article 319 of Law\nNo.\u00a01 of 2023 on the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of\n12 years in prison.<\/p>\n
Police are also applying Article 51(1) of the Electricity Law as an\nalternative charge, as the specific law governing the case. Based on\ncalculations of customer compensation following the widespread outage,\nlosses to the state are estimated at Rp57,315,057,007.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-name-five-suspects-in-batam-bintan-power-blackout-case-1792500709", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }