Police grill 12 men over killing of campaign leader

Police grill 12 men over killing of campaign leader

ID Nugroho, Jember

Police continued questioning 12 men on Thursday over the killing
of the local campaign team chairman for presidential candidate
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jember regency, East Java.

The killing last Tuesday night of Dodik Setyono, also known as
Sugiyono, may have had a political message ahead of the Sept. 20
election runoff between Susilo and incumbent Megawati
Soekarnoputri, the victim's family and friends have alleged.

However, Jember Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Setyo Prihadi said
on Thursday the killing was simply a criminal act. "Right now we
are still conducting the investigation, and so far there are no
hints of a political motive."

Setyo said 12 suspects were arrested on Wednesday in
connection with the killing. Police identified 10 of the suspects
as Ismail, Farid, Nurul, Eddy, Ali, Bambang, Eko, Dedi, Junaidi
and Deni, all from Sumberjati village in Silo district, Jember.

Sugiyono, who led Susilo's campaign team for Silo district in
Jember, was stabbed to death by a group of people while he and
another man, Mulyono, were riding on a motorcycle to a wedding
party, according to the victim's uncle, Waras Budianto.

He told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that the attack took
place at about 10:30 p.m. in the hamlet of Lumbung.

"Sugiyono tried to pass a vehicle that was carrying the
attackers. They suddenly ran after him and beat him. Some of them
were carrying knives and stabbed him in the chest. Then the
perpetrators fled," Waras said.

He said he and his family believed there was some motive
behind the killing and urged the police to carry out a thorough
investigation. "How could he just be killed over such a trivial
matter (as a traffic argument)?"

Setyo said on Wednesday the motive behind the murder remained
a mystery.

Several suspects had confessed to attacking Sugiyono because
they were offended that he tried to pass their vehicle, the
Jember Police chief said.

"Some of them also claimed that the victim refused to pay
after losing a race they had bet on," he said.

Sugiyono's death came two weeks after the murder of Suwardjo,
the local chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI-P) in the neighboring regency of Bondowoso. No suspects have
been identified in that murder.

Setyo brushed aside speculation that the killing of Sugiyono
was somehow connected with Suwardjo's murder.

The PDI-P won the April 5 legislative election in Jember, with
Susilo's Democratic Party finishing second. During the July 5
presidential election in Jember, Susilo received 431,500 votes
while Megawati received 304,370.

Sugiyono is survived by his wife Rofiatun, son Dodik, 9, and
daughter, Shinta, 2.

Susilo's East Java campaign team said it was saddened by the
death of Sugiyono and encouraged the police to carry out a
thorough investigation into the killing.