Military Prosecutor Prepares Three New Witnesses to Uncover Facts of Bank Branch Manager's Death

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Military Prosecutor from Oditurat Militer II-07 Jakarta, Major (Chk) Wasinton Marpaung, stated that his office is preparing three additional witnesses to uncover the facts in the case of the alleged kidnapping and murder of a bank branch head (kacab) in Jakarta, initialled MIP (37). “We will present three additional witnesses, namely from the victim’s family and a forensic expert,” said Wasinton when contacted in Jakarta on Wednesday. The two witnesses from the victim’s family are the wife and mother-in-law of the victim. Both will be presented through witness protection mechanisms, as they have applied for protection to the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK). “The first is the victim’s wife, followed by her mother-in-law. They will likely be summoned through the LPSK because they have applied for protection as witnesses and victims,” Wasinton explained. In addition, the prosecutor will also present a forensic expert from Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Kramat Jati. This expert is the one who issued the visum on the victim’s body and is considered to have an important role in revealing medical facts related to MIP’s death. “These three additional witnesses are key witnesses to strengthen the evidence in the trial,” Wasinton stated. The three witnesses are scheduled to appear together in the next hearing set for Monday, 11 May. According to Wasinton, the forensic expert’s testimony is needed to confirm the exact time of the victim’s death. This is crucial because it relates to the charges against the defendants, particularly regarding the alleged concealment of the death. “The aim is to confirm when the victim actually died. The previous visum could not determine it in detail, especially regarding the body’s rigor mortis,” Wasinton revealed. Furthermore, he explained that based on preliminary suspicions, the victim’s body was dumped around 00:00 WIB. However, his office needs to confirm whether the rigor mortis had already occurred before that time or afterwards. “If the rigor mortis had already occurred before the body was dumped, it means the victim had died earlier. That’s what we want to confirm through the expert’s testimony,” said Wasinton. This explanation is considered important to strengthen the case construction, particularly in linking the defendants’ roles to the victim’s death. Indeed, the prosecutor is also charging under the article on attempting to conceal the death in this case. The next hearing in mid-May is expected to be a pivotal moment in more clearly uncovering the chronology of the victim’s death, while also clarifying the criminal elements charged against the defendants.