Police Arrest Suspect in Murder of JICT Retiree Ermanto Usman

Police have arrested a suspect in the murder of Ermanto Usman (65), a retired employee of Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT), at his residence in Jatibening, Pondok Gede, Bekasi City, West Java.

“That is correct; the murder suspect has been arrested,” said Deputy Head of Criminal Investigation at Metro Jaya Police Headquarters AKBP Abdul Rahim to journalists on Tuesday, 10 March. However, Abdul declined to disclose the suspect’s identity or details regarding the arrest process.

Previously, Ermanto Usman and his wife were believed to have been attacked by robbers at their home in Jatibening, Pondok Gede, Bekasi, West Java on Monday, 2 March. In the incident, Ermanto was killed, whilst his wife sustained injuries and remained under medical care at a hospital.

The incident was discovered by their son near dawn. The son became suspicious when his parents did not wake him for sahur (the pre-dawn meal during Ramadan) by 04.00 WIB.

“When he woke up, he was startled, thinking ‘it’s almost time for imsak’ (the end of the pre-dawn meal). Eventually, he went downstairs. When he arrived, he noticed there was no response from his parents; the lights were still off,” said Bekasi Metro Police Criminal Investigation Unit Chief Kompol Andi Muhammad Iqbal to journalists on Monday, 2 March.

Andi stated that the son initially heard his mother’s voice. However, when he approached, the door handle had been damaged and could not be opened.

In short, the father was found dead in a pool of blood, whilst the mother had sustained serious injuries and was immediately taken to hospital for medical treatment.

From preliminary investigation, several items were reported stolen during the attack, including a gold bracelet from the victim’s wrist and two car keys.

Ermanto was chairman of the JICT Pensioners’ Association. Pelindo is the primary shareholder of JICT. He was also known as a port observer.

In recent times, he was recognised as one of the figures who exposed allegations of corruption related to port management. He brought these corruption allegations to the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK).