Police Establish 6 Case Clusters for 27 August Riots, 45 Named as Suspects
Polda Metro Jaya has named a total of 45 people as suspects in connection with the riots that occurred following a demonstration in front of the DPR/MPR building on Thursday evening, 27 August. Director of General Criminal Investigation at Polda Metro Jaya, Senior Commissioner Iman Imanuddin, said a total of 322 people had been arrested and separated into six different clusters.
He detailed that the first cluster relates to children under the age of 18. Iman said the investigation process for this cluster has been handed over to the Directorate of PPA and PPO, involving 153 children. “Consisting of 25 school dropouts, then 2 children aged 12, 1 child aged 13, 3 children aged 14, 23 children aged 15, 47 children aged 16, 64 children aged 17, 10 children aged 18, among whom three are female,” he said during a press conference on Friday, 28 February.
The second cluster concerns riot perpetrators. Iman explained that a total of 91 people were examined in connection with the rioting in front of the DPR/MPR building. The third cluster relates to damage to public facilities and assault. In this cluster, he said, investigators examined 71 people who were arrested.
The fourth cluster, Iman said, relates to sharp weapons carried during the action. He explained that three people were found by officers carrying sharp weapons at the scene. “From the results of the investigation, based on evidence and witnesses examined during the investigation process, we have now named 45 people as suspects,” he explained.
Iman said his team also identified a group that falls within the cluster of mobilisers and financiers of the rioting. The final cluster is mass recruiters. He acknowledged finding legal facts indicating a cluster tasked with finding and recruiting masses to be used in the process or during the rioting incident.
“The modus operandi carried out by those we have named as suspects is damaging public facilities and committing assault against both people and property,” he said. “Committing violence against people or property in public as a group and causing chaos, and misuse of sharp weapons,” he added.
Iman said investigators are still looking deeper into perpetrators who exploited children to carry out unlawful activities. “Because this could potentially violate norms as regulated in the Child Protection Law concerning the involvement and exploitation of children,” he said.