Police Continue Investigation into Senior Student Burning Three Juniors at Central Lombok Islamic Boarding School

The Central Lombok Police are continuing to develop their investigation into the case of a santri (Islamic boarding school student) who was burned, moving towards alleged criminal negligence, as the suspect’s actions resulted in victims suffering burns or death. Central Lombok Police Criminal Investigation Unit Head AKP Punguan Hutahaean stated that the investigation is now applying Article 474 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code, based on the results of the investigation and statements from the victims. “After investigating the facts of the incident and based on the victims’ statements, this is leading towards Article 474 of the Criminal Code,” he said in Central Lombok on Wednesday. Punguan explained that at the start of the inquiry, the case referred to alleged violations of Article 76C in conjunction with Article 80, paragraphs (2) and (3) of Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection, and/or Article 466, paragraphs (2) and (3) of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code. However, the results of the investigation and case review have led investigators towards alleged negligence in supervising student activities within the pesantren environment. Punguan noted that investigators have not yet named a suspect as the process is still ongoing to determine the party responsible for the alleged negligence. Chairman of the Mataram Child Protection Agency, Joko Jumadi, supported the investigators’ move to develop the case towards alleged criminal negligence. He stated that investigators need to delve deeper into the causal relationship between the supervision system at the pesantren and the fire incident. “If a child is the perpetrator, there is certainly a causality that caused the fire. However, whether there is a link to negligence on the part of the pesantren that led to this incident, that still needs to be investigated further,” said Joko.