Bandung confinement suspect fled to Tangerang before capture

West Java Regional Police disclosed that Taufik Hidayat, the suspect in the confinement and assault of a woman identified by the initials YTR (29) in Bandung Regency, had fled to the Tangerang area in Banten before ultimately being arrested by police. “His escape story was recounted earlier; the individual moved to Tangerang, feeling that Tangerang was a safe place, but there he was also confused and felt unsafe, so he returned to West Java,” said West Java Police Chief Inspector General Rudi Setiawan in Bandung on Tuesday. According to him, after returning to West Java, the suspect went to a relative’s house in the Majalaya area of Bandung Regency. The perpetrator’s whereabouts were then successfully traced through his online transaction activities. “This morning, the individual made several transactions. This became a clue for us. Therefore, the teams assigned to Majalaya remained there, searching around the housing estate, and finally in the afternoon to evening managed to locate and arrest him,” he stated. Rudi confirmed that so far no involvement of other parties assisting the suspect in hiding during his flight has been found. “What we see is that his movements were alone, without help from others. So we can confirm his escape was solitary,” he said. From the preliminary examination, the suspect admitted to all his actions against the victim. Investigators are currently still probing the motive and the sequence of violent acts committed against YTR. “He admits to everything he did. He also expressed regret and confessed that his actions were carried out under the influence of alcohol consumption,” he said. Previously, this case came to light after the victim’s family received a message via WhatsApp from an unknown person informing them that the victim was at the Emergency Department of Hasan Sadikin Hospital in Bandung. As a result of the alleged assault, the victim sustained a number of severe injuries, including vision impairment leading to blindness in both eyes, a cleft lip, difficulty speaking, inability to walk normally, and the loss of several valuable belongings.