Key Points of TNI Statement on Four Suspected Soldiers in Acid Attack
The TNI Military Police Centre (Puspom) has detained four TNI personnel suspected of involvement in the acid attack on KontraS activist Andrie Yunus.
TNI Deputy Chief of Military Police, Major General Yusri Nuryanto, stated that the four suspected perpetrators have been arrested for further investigation.
Here are the key points of the TNI’s statement regarding the arrest of the four soldiers.
Suspected perpetrators from Denma BAIS TNI
During a press conference on Wednesday (18/3), Yusri stated that the four soldiers are from the Detachment Headquarters of the TNI Strategic Intelligence Agency (Denma BAIS).
“We state that all four suspected perpetrators are members of Denma BAIS TNI,” Yusri said during the press conference at TNI Headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Wednesday (18/3).
The four are said to be from the Navy (AL) and Air Force (AU) branches. They are initialled NDP, SL, BHW, and ES.
Ranks from sergeant to captain
According to Yusri’s statement, the four soldiers hold ranks from second sergeant (serda) to captain.
The soldier initialled NDP holds the rank of Captain. Then, the soldiers initialled SL and BHW hold the rank of first lieutenant (Lettu), and the soldier initialled ES holds the rank of Second Sergeant (Serda).
Detained at Pomdam Jaya
Yusri stated that the four TNI personnel will subsequently be detained at the Jakarta Regional Military Police (Pomdam Jaya).
“Regarding the detention location, we will carry out the detention entrusted to Pomdam Jaya. There is maximum super security detention there, and we will entrust them there,” he said.
Charged with assault article
Yusri explained that the soldiers are currently charged under Article 467 of the new Criminal Code regarding premeditated assault. The penalty is imprisonment from 4 to 7 years.
“For now, we are applying Article 467 of Law No. 1 of 2023. There is paragraph 1, paragraph 2, where the penalty threats are already stated there. There is 4 years, there is 7 years,” he said.
The full text of Article 467 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the new Criminal Code is as follows:
Any person who commits assault with prior planning shall be punished with imprisonment for a maximum of 4 (four) years.
If the act as referred to in paragraph (1) results in serious injury, the perpetrator shall be punished with imprisonment for a maximum of 7 (seven) years.
This charge contradicts the stance of civil coalitions including KontraS. Civil coalitions assess the acid attack terror against Andrie Yunus as attempted premeditated murder.
Roles of the suspected perpetrators
Yusri revealed the roles of the four soldiers. He explained that two soldiers are suspected of acting as executors, while the other two are still under investigation.
“From the CCTV results, there are two people who did it. Now, where the other two were and what their roles were, we are still investigating,” he said.
Andrie Yunus became the victim of an acid attack by unknown persons on Thursday (12/3) night.
The attack resulted in injuries to Andrie’s hands and legs as well as vision impairment. Medical examination results state that Andrie suffered 24 percent burns.
President Prabowo Subianto has ordered National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo to thoroughly investigate this case.
On Wednesday (18/3), police stated that the acid attackers against Andrie are suspected to number more than four people. Two of them were identified with initials BHC and MAK.
“Currently, we suspect that the two people we showed earlier from the One Data Polri, one initialled BHC, two initialled MAK. However, from our investigation results, it does not rule out the possibility that the suspected perpetrators are more than four,” said Director of General Criminal Investigation of Metro Jaya Regional Police, Commissioner Iman Imanuddin.