Lawyer claims MR has not received suspect determination letter in fatal santri fire case
Mataram (ANTARA) - The legal counsel of MR stated that his client has to date not received a letter naming him a suspect from Central Lombok Police investigators in the case of a burned santri, even though police say the letter has been delivered to MR’s guardian.
“As of today, we as legal counsel, as well as MR and MR’s parents, have never received a letter naming him a suspect. So let us clarify: although reports have been circulating that MR is a suspect, to this day neither we nor the family have ever received a letter naming MR as a suspect,” said MR’s lawyer, Aan Ramadhan, in Mataram on Wednesday.
Aan said that since the case was handled by Central Lombok Police, his client has only received a Case Investigation Progress Notification Letter (SP2HP).
“What was received was only the SP2HP, not a suspect status letter. If someone is designated a suspect, a letter naming them as a suspect should be served,” he said.
Aan stressed that his team, together with advocates from the Law Office of Aan Ramadhan and the Patriot Keadilan Legal Aid Institute (LBH PADI), will visit the investigators to seek certainty regarding MR’s legal status.
“The primary step now is of course to meet the investigators to ask about the progress of this case,” he said.
According to Aan, once there is certainty over MR’s suspect status, his side will study the criminal charges applied by the investigators before deciding on further legal steps.
“What is clear is that we will pursue legal remedies in accordance with proper procedure, perhaps pre-trial motions and so on; we shall see,” he said.
Meanwhile, the head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of Central Lombok Police, AKP Punguan Hutahaean, said the letter naming MR a suspect has been delivered to MR’s guardian.
“It has been received, there is documentation. His guardian received it,” he said via a WhatsApp message.
Previously, Central Lombok Police together with the Women and Children Protection Directorate of NTB Regional Police announced at a press conference on Thursday (9/7) two suspects in the case: AMR (55), the boarding school leader, and MR (15), a fellow santri of the victim.
Both were charged under Article 359 or Article 360 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 474 paragraphs (2) and (3) of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code, relating to alleged negligence resulting in the victim’s death and serious injury, carrying a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.