Lebak Council Speaker and Husband Questioned by Police Over Activist Assault Case
Banten Regional Police have questioned the Speaker of the Lebak Regency Regional Council (DPRD), Juwita Wulandari, together with her husband, Deden Fatih, in connection with the kidnapping and assault of NGO activist Fuk Tjhong, also known as Uun. Both were questioned as witnesses.
“As of today, we are still developing the investigation. Yesterday’s questioning has been completed, and we will determine how far their involvement goes. We are currently cross-matching the facts on the ground,” said the Head of Public Relations at Banten Regional Police, Commissioner Maruli Hutapea, to reporters on Friday (24/7/2026).
According to Maruli, based on evidence and witness testimony, the victim was taken by a group of people to Juwita’s house. Uun was forcibly abducted, assaulted, and then taken to Juwita’s house to apologise.
“Based on the information, documents and videos, the alleged perpetrator (who is now a suspect) took him to someone’s house. We questioned the owner of that house. Yesterday we questioned the homeowner, a woman, along with her husband — reportedly the Speaker of the DPRD,” Maruli said.
Police have so far named four people as suspects. Maruli said the four are men with the initials D, A, R and E.
“As of today, we have named four people as suspects,” Maruli said.
Lebak DPRD Speaker Denies Involvement
Contacted separately, the Speaker of the Lebak Regency DPRD, Juwita Wulandari, denied ordering anyone to assault Uun. She rejected any connection to the incident.
“Regarding the issue that has been circulating in the media recently, alleging that I ordered an individual or group to carry out violence or kidnapping against Mr Uun, this is my right of reply. I wish to clarify that this news is untrue,” Juwita said on Wednesday (22/7).
“I never ordered anyone to carry out such violence, and I never communicated with them,” she added.
Juwita acknowledged that Uun had once contacted her. However, she said there was no further communication after the incident.
“The story began with a husband-and-wife conversation. Mr U sent me a private WhatsApp message in language that I felt was unethical. I said to my husband, ‘Why has Mr U become so rude lately?’ My husband only looked at the content of the message. That was the extent of it, and there was no further communication,” she said.