Police Confirm Death of East Java Junior High Student Not Due to Bullying, Reveal Perpetrator's Motive
Lumajang, VIVA - Police have emphasised that the death of a junior high school student, identified by the initials IL (16), was purely a case of violence against a child, not bullying. This was revealed by the Head of the Women and Child Protection Unit of the Lumajang Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Police Inspector Rahmat Budy Prasetyo, on Friday, 3 July 2026.
“There were no elements of bullying found from the investigation results; the motive was purely that the perpetrator, identified by the initials DF (16), was annoyed with the victim, which led to the act of violence,” he stated.
He explained that the perpetrator had been feeling irritated with the victim for three days due to an incident that caused anger. This culminated on Monday, 18 July 2026, when the perpetrator assaulted the victim.
“The perpetrator called the victim and expressed his frustration, then vented it by hitting the victim,” he said.
According to Rahmat, the perpetrator had previously been reprimanded by the school principal because of the victim’s actions, which caused his resentment towards the victim.
He further explained that the incident involving the victim, IL, did not meet the criteria for bullying because it did not occur repeatedly, and the perpetrator’s actions were triggered by a specific moment of irritation resulting in physical assault.
The Lumajang Police have officially named DF as a suspect and have detained the perpetrator at the Lumajang Police Headquarters for further legal proceedings.
“For his actions, DF is charged under Article 80, Paragraph 3 of Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison,” he noted.
Rahmat explained that the punishment for children in conflict with the law is subject to Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection, which specifically refers to Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System.
“Based on that regulation, the prison sentence for a child is at most only half of the maximum criminal penalty for an adult for the same criminal offence,” he said.
It was previously reported that a quarrel triggered by a trivial matter in class ended in tragedy. A junior high school student, IL (16), a resident of Jatisari Village, Kedungjajang District, Lumajang Regency, East Java, passed away after allegedly becoming a victim of assault by a classmate.
The incident occurred while students of class IC at SMP PGRI Sukodono were taking an Academic Ability Test (TKA) on Monday, 18 May 2026. Based on the police investigation, the incident began when a student, SKF, also known as DF (16), found rubbish in the victim’s desk locker.