August 2025 Protest: Serang Student Charged with Damaging and Burning Police Post

Serang (ANTARA) - The Public Prosecutor’s Office (JPU) of the Serang District Prosecutor’s Office has charged a local student, Muhamad Dzaky Hafizh Al Fikry alias Fikri, with destruction and arson of a police post, thereby endangering public safety, during a demonstration on 30 August 2025.

“Participating in a criminal act by committing an act that causes fire, explosion, or flood, thereby endangering public safety for persons or property,” stated JPU Youliana Ayu Rospita during the first hearing of the case at the Serang District Court (PN) in Banten on Tuesday.

According to the prosecutor’s indictment, the incident began with a joint consolidation of student organisations at Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University (Untirta) campus on 29 August 2025. They planned a protest for the following day at Simpang Empat Ciceri, Jalan Jenderal Ahmad Yani, in Serang City.

During the protest on 30 August 2025, the defendant is alleged to have purchased Pertamax-type fuel, which was placed into two mineral water bottles and brought to the protest site.

The situation, initially consisting of speeches and the delivery of aspirations, turned anarchic at 16:30 WIB.

The JPU charges that Fikri poured fuel onto a pile of goods and tyres, causing the fire to grow larger, and handed the remaining fuel to his accomplice. The unrest continued into the night.

The JPU states that one protester threw a Molotov cocktail, resulting in the police post building being set on fire. The defendant is further alleged to have provided fuel for use in that arson.

“As a result of the defendant’s actions together with witness Fathan Nurma’arif, the Serang City Police Traffic Unit suffered material losses of approximately IDR 150 million,” said the JPU.

For his actions, the defendant is charged under Article 308 paragraph (1) in conjunction with Article 20 letter c regarding acts causing fire and endangering the public, as well as Article 262 paragraph (1) on collective violence against property in public, based on Law Number 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code.