KPAI Spotlights Case of Mobile Brigade Officer Who Beat Madrasah Student to Death

Jakarta, VIVA – The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) has drawn attention to the case of Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officer Brigadier Masias Siahaya, who allegedly committed acts of violence against Arianto Tawakal (14), a student at a state Islamic secondary school (MTsN) in Southeast Maluku, resulting in his death, as well as against his brother Nasrim Karim (15).

KPAI Commissioner Diyah Puspitarini urged the police to transparently uncover the cause of the child’s death.

“A child who dies under unnatural circumstances as a victim of violence has the right to have the cause of death clarified, so the child does not receive negative stigma,” Diyah told reporters on Sunday, 22 February 2026.

Diyah further stated that the incident violates the Child Protection Act and is wholly unjustifiable. “KPAI therefore requests, as stipulated in Article 59A of the Child Protection Act, that proceedings be conducted swiftly, that the victim’s family receive social assistance, and that the child receive legal protection,” Diyah explained.

Additionally, Diyah noted that KPAI has already been coordinating with the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) and the Women and Children Protection Directorate at National Police Headquarters to follow up on the case.

The grim incident began when Brigadier Masias Siahaya committed acts of violence against Arianto Tawakal (14), a student at a state Islamic secondary school in Southeast Maluku.

Blows to the head left the victim drenched in blood before he ultimately drew his last breath. The perpetrator also assaulted the victim’s older brother, Nasrim Karim (15), who suffered broken bones. The Brimob officer, Brigadier Masias Siahaya, has now been named a suspect in the assault case that led to the student’s death in Tual, Maluku.

Masias has been found to have assaulted two students, identified as AT (14) and NK (15). One of them died from bleeding to the head.

“A press conference to announce the suspect designation was held this morning at Tual Police Station,” said Maluku Regional Police Public Relations Head Senior Commissioner Rositah Umasugi when contacted by reporters in Jakarta on Saturday.

Rositah disclosed that the suspect had been transferred to Maluku Regional Police Headquarters for further ethical examination by the Professional and Security Division (Bidpropam). “An ethics code examination by Bidpropam at Maluku Regional Police is currently under way,” she explained.