Soldiers questioned over recent police post attack<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra<\/p>\n
The Military Police in Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, are
\nquestioning three Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers for their
\nalleged role in an attack on the Serbelawan Police subprecinct
\npost on Monday night.<\/p>\n
Bukit Barisan Military Command spokesman Lt. Col. Nurdin
\nSulistiyo said on Wednesday that Second Sgt. Tigor Marbun, First
\nSgt. Hotma Tunggul Samosir and Chief Sgt. Arif had been arrested
\nfor allegedly inciting their comrades to attack the police post.<\/p>\n
The attack left an officer, Second Brig. Marudut Panjaitan,
\nseverely injured with stab wounds.<\/p>\n
Nurdin was quick to add that the soldiers were acting outside
\nof the chain of command.<\/p>\n
\"It's purely the soldiers' own doing, and there were no orders
\nfrom their superiors directing them to commit the violence,\"
\nNurdin told The Jakarta Post at his office in Medan.<\/p>\n
He said Bukit Barisan Military commander Maj. Gen. Idris
\nGassing, who is responsible for military affairs in North
\nSumatra, Riau, Jambi and West Sumatra, had vowed to be
\ntransparent in dealing with the incident.<\/p>\n
The attack followed a security check in Genjing Kahean village
\nconducted by a Military Police officer, First Sgt. Sukamto, on a
\ntruck driven by Hotma that was carrying oil palm coconuts. Tigor,
\nwho was following Hotma in his own car, intervened as Sukamto was
\nabout to ticket the truck after Hotma failed to show the
\nnecessary documents for transporting the coconuts.<\/p>\n
Hotma claimed that the coconuts belonged to his father-in-law.<\/p>\n
When Sukamto insisted that the truck be detained, a group of
\nlocal people came along to prevent the seizure.<\/p>\n
Sukamto called for help from the local police, who managed to
\ndisperse the crowd and helped the Military Police officer arrest
\nTigor and Hotma.<\/p>\n
Nurdin said that a TNI soldier called Arif then came to the
\nMilitary Police post along with some 30 comrades from the 122nd
\nBattalion. By the time the soldiers arrived, rumor had it that
\ntheir two comrades had already been moved to the Sarbelawan
\nPolice subprecinct office.<\/p>\n
Duty officer Marudut received the soldiers and tried to
\nexplain to them that the police were not detaining their
\ncolleagues.<\/p>\n
But the angry soldiers ran amok and vandalized the police
\nsubprecinct office. Marudut put up a fight but was stabbed by one
\nof the attackers, who also destroyed three motorcycles and two
\ncars belonging to the police.<\/p>\n
Nurdin said the Bukit Barisan Military Command would pay for
\nany losses caused.<\/p>\n
Spokesman for the North Sumatra Police Adj. Sr. Comr. Amrin
\nKarim said he was shocked by the incident, saying that good
\nrelations had long existed between the military and police in the
\nprovince.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/soldiers-questioned-over-recent-police-post-attack-1447893297",
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