Experts divided on arrest of suspected serial killer

Experts divided on arrest of suspected serial killer

JAKARTA (JP): Experts are divided on the recent arrest of a
man charged with sodomizing and killing eight city street boys.

In an interview with The Jakarta Post yesterday, criminologist
Adrianus Meliala from the University of Indonesia hailed the
police work.

Meanwhile Jovita Martina, a former lecturer of criminology at
the university, doubted the arrest, saying it might have been
engineered.

"The police were under pressure from their superiors and the
public, who both hoped for an immediate arrest of the serial
killer," Jovita said.

That is why, she said, the police "intended to meet the needs"
of the public and their superiors.

"So I doubt if the man who has been arrested is the real
serial killer," Jovita said.

During a television interview the suspect appeared to be a
cold person who could answer reporters' questions smoothly, even
though he said he was illiterate.

"I know the truth is determined in court, but I just want to
warn the police to make a strong case, with enough evidence,"
Jovita said.

This is because suspects in many earlier cases have told the
court they were beaten while being interrogated, she said.

Adrianus said the Central Jakarta Police have made police
history by charging someone for the first ever serial killing in
Indonesia, in a relatively short period.

"They have done a good job with good techniques in crime
investigation," he said.

Adrianus said there was little possibility that the police
could have engineered an arrest for the sake of recognition by
the public and their superiors.

"The police have worked very hard and carefully," he said.

For instance, he noted, detectives never distributed any of
the victims' pictures to the press, in order to make the suspect
feel free and unaware of the investigation.

"An engineered arrest would be easily revealed in court,"
Adrianus said.

Nevertheless the recent arrest of Siswanto, alias Robot, 33,
seemed a remarkable milestone given chronic police problems such
as a shortage of personnel, equipment and funds, and low
salaries.

A student said he hoped the success will draw more attention
to the police's needs.

Either the government or the private sector should be
motivated to help provide the police with up-to-date equipment,
to make it easier for them to solve more cases, Donny, a student
of the Trisakti University, said.

Central Jakarta Police Chief Lt. Col. Abubakar Nataprawira,
who led the investigation, said the work started with the
identification of the eight victims, whose decomposed bodies were
found at two locations in Central and East Jakarta.

"It's a long story involving lots of experts, including
forensic scientists," Abubakar said.

Detectives from East Jakarta ran their own investigation, in
competition with their colleagues from Central Jakarta, to try
and find the suspected serial killer.

This meant little progress was made until the eighth victim
was found, despite information from forensic scientists who had
informed detectives at the Jakarta police headquarters that the
victims, aged between nine and 15, must have been murdered by a
serial killer.

The East Jakarta police questioned hundreds of street boys and
arrested some senior street people who were believed to have
sodomized their juniors.

Meanwhile the Central Jakarta police sent nine of its
detectives to several villages and cities in West and Central
Java two days later to trace the suspect.

Three weeks later, the team arrested Siswanto, a homeless
Jakarta scavenger, at a railway station in Tegal, Central Java.

Siswanto said he also killed two other street boys in Central
Java.

He also said he was sodomized several times himself. The
suspect faces the death penalty if convicted. (bsr)