Family of Police Officer Who Died After Alleged Assault by Senior Demands Justice

Makassar, VIVA – The family of the late Bripda DP is calling on the Professional and Security Division (Propam) to uncover the circumstances of his death and pursue legal action against the perpetrators, after the junior officer allegedly fell victim to violence and assault reportedly carried out by his senior at the South Sulawesi Regional Police barracks, ultimately resulting in his death.

“We hope this will be properly investigated. We are seeking justice. If there was an assault, we leave it to the South Sulawesi Regional Police investigators to thoroughly uncover who the perpetrators are,” said the victim’s father, Aipda H Jabir, in the waiting room of the South Sulawesi Regional Police Medical Division at Bhayangkara Hospital on Jalan Kumala, Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Sunday evening.

According to information received, the victim allegedly suffered an assault by his senior officer at the police barracks within the South Sulawesi Regional Police headquarters compound on Sunday, 22 February, after the dawn prayer following the pre-dawn meal. The cause of the assault remains unknown.

Jabir said that before the incident, he and the victim’s mother had been in contact with their son by telephone. They had planned to bring him bebek Palleko, a traditional duck dish from Pinrang, and to deliver his motorcycle that day.

“Yesterday I also called to arrange delivering his motorcycle to the regional police headquarters. He also messaged his mother, because he wanted Palleko from Pinrang brought over to share with his seniors. He messaged his mother at five in the morning, but when she replied at six, there was no response,” he said sorrowfully.

Sensing something was wrong, Jabir continued, he tried calling his son but received no response. He then contacted one of his son’s fellow academy cohort members to ask about his whereabouts, but was told his son was still sleeping.

“I managed to contact his friend, but the friend made excuses that everyone was still asleep. I asked them to wake him up. It turned out the victim had not been sleeping in his own barracks. He had been sleeping in the platoon commander’s room at the time of the incident, and when they went to wake him, they found him already collapsed in the platoon commander’s room,” he said in a faint voice.

The grievous news reached the family at around 07:00 Central Indonesian Time as Jabir was about to sleep, when he received a call from one of his son’s cohort members informing him that his son had been taken to Daya Regional General Hospital. Initially he was told his son was ill, but he did not believe it as his son had been perfectly fine the day before.

Upon arriving at Daya Regional General Hospital, the victim had already been pronounced dead. Preliminary examinations revealed bruising on the victim’s body, and blood had been seen coming from his mouth. For the purposes of the investigation, the body was transferred to Bhayangkara Hospital for a forensic examination and autopsy.