Murderer of State-Owned Bank Branch Head Attempts to Erase Trail by Discarding Towel Used to Bind Victim at Car Wash

JAKARTA - The defendant in the kidnapping and murder of the head of a state-owned bank branch (kacab BUMN) in Jakarta, Muhammad Ilham Pradipta, attempted to erase his trail after abducting and dumping the victim in Bekasi Regency, West Java. The towel that had previously been wrapped around the victim’s mouth and neck was retrieved and taken into the vehicle before being discarded at a car wash area. “The towel was thrown away in the car wash area,” the defendant Serka MN stated during the trial at the Military Court II-08 in Cakung, East Jakarta, on Tuesday (5/5/2026). Serka MN admitted to kicking the victim out of frustration because the victim would not stay still and kept moving, so he told the victim to calm down. “I kicked him, I said ‘just stay quiet, don’t talk too much’,” he said. The military prosecutor then connected this admission to the autopsy results showing broken ribs on the victim’s body. This was deemed relevant to the victim’s slanted position in the middle seat, which could have led to a hard impact on the chest or ribs. The confession adds to the chain of facts revealed in the trial, including allegations of repeated violence suffered by the victim from the kidnapping process to the disposal. The prosecutor assessed that the defendant’s statement indicates systematic actions in treating the victim, from violence inside the vehicle to efforts to eliminate traces after leaving the victim. “For the work order, from Mr Dwi Hartono (witness 3) and Yohannes Joko Pamuntas (witness 5), it was only for kidnapping,” he said. According to him, the order did not include other actions besides bringing the victim to be handed over to the pickup team, which was said to be from Dwi. The handover location was planned in the Kemayoran area, Central Jakarta. However, the scenario did not proceed as planned.