Labourer's Confession in Gianyar Foreman's Slashing: Only 3 Days on the Job, Frequently Scolded

Despite having only worked for three days, M Fais, also known as Fais, claimed he was frequently scolded and slapped by his foreman, I Wayan Sedhana. The 20-year-old youth revealed this during his trial at the Gianyar District Court.

“I was already frequently scolded after just three days of work,” said Fais in response to questions from prosecutor Ni Made Widiastuti at the Gianyar District Court on Wednesday (1/4/2026).

Fais stated that he began working under Sedhana’s orders from 21 October 2025. Meanwhile, Sandy Firmansyah and Nurul Arifin had been working with Sedhana for longer.

The four were involved in a subak irrigation channel construction project in Tengaling, Banjar Puseh, Pejeng Tengah Village, Tampaksiring.

During those three days of work, Fais claimed to be the target of Sedhana’s anger, from technical issues in the project work to Fais’s attitude, which was deemed too inquisitive.

Not only scolded, Fais also claimed to have been frequently slapped by Sedhana when making mistakes in the work.

“At that time, I was called by the victim (Sedhana). The victim was angry because there was a mistake in the ironwork. I had already apologised, dismantled, and reinstalled it,” said Fais.

Trigger of the Assault

The peak incident occurred on 24 October 2025 when Fais, Sandy, and Arifin continued the subak project work. At that time, Sandy questioned a building deemed non-functional.

He asked whether the building needed to be dismantled or left as is. However, instead of receiving an answer, Fais was scolded again and about to be slapped by Sedhana.

Before the slap could happen, Sedhana was first attacked by Arifin.

“Arifin reflexively struck the victim with a hoe to the head. He struck with the back end of the hoe,” he said.

That blow caused Sedhana to collapse and convulse.

Victim Executed

In a convulsing state, Sedhana was then attacked again. Fais said the victim was beaten by Sandy and himself before finally being killed by Arifin.

“Arifin did the slashing. I reflexively only held his legs,” he said.

Arifin reportedly slashed the victim’s neck using a saw with more than two strokes.

After the incident, Fais claimed he immediately fled to his lodging in Denpasar. He was then followed by Arifin and Sandy, who were panicked after killing Sedhana.

The three briefly stopped at Fais’s lodging before fleeing to East Java.

Fled and Arrested

Four days after the incident, the three construction labourers were arrested by police while working on a new project in East Java.

“I took the victim’s motorbike because I was panicked. The key was still in it. Before entering Gilimanuk Harbour, I removed the licence plate,” said Arifin.

Previously, the three perpetrators were arrested in Jember, East Java. They are charged under Article 338 of the Criminal Code for murder and Article 365 of the Criminal Code for theft with violence. Police are also investigating allegations of premeditation.

If proven, the three could be charged with premeditated murder, carrying a potential death penalty.