Alleged suicide sparks fury in East Kotawaringin
Alleged suicide sparks fury in East Kotawaringin
SAMPIT, Central Kalimantan: Suriansyah, a crime suspect, died,
allegedly due to suicide, only a day after he was arrested on
Saturday, a police officer has said.
However, the family of Suriansyah suspects that the victim
died at the hands of the police.
Comr. Bambang Siswanto, deputy chief of East Kotawaringin
police precinct, said on Tuesday that the incident began on
Friday night when Sofyan Noor, a local resident, reported to the
police that he had lost his motorcycle on Jl. Jendral Sudirman.
The police followed up on the report on the following day,
when they arrested four suspects: Suriansyah, 42, Arbani, 36,
Kardiman, 20 and Dauli, 20.
Bambang said that the police had no problems with the other
three, but Suriansyah was apparently in shock after the arrest.
On Sunday morning, he asked a cell guard at the East
Kotawaringin police precinct headquarters for permission to visit
the rest room.
However, a few minutes after he emerged from the room he fell
unconscious.
According to Bambang, an initial investigation found that he
tried to commit suicide by inserting a 40-centimeter-long
broomstick into his anus.
"Most likely, he felt humiliated after the arrest, and this
motivated him to commit suicide," Bambang alleged.
The victim was taken to Murjani Hospital for medical
treatment, but he died at 8 p.m on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Jumiati, 40, the wife of Suriansyah, asserted that
she did not believe that her husband had committed suicide.
Before he was arrested, he appeared to be physically healthy
and mentally stable, so it was highly unlikely that he would have
committed suicide, said Jumiati.
Jumiati suspected that the police had killed her husband,
highlighting the bruises found on her husband's body after his
death.
She did not believe, either, that her husband had stolen the
motorcycle. "He was a carpenter and had never committed any
crime," she said.
She added that she had demanded an investigation into the
incident.
She also said that she was ready to fight a legal battle over
the case, saying that she has already hired a lawyer, Rajali. --
Antara