Police name 49 suspects in riot during protest at DPR
The Jakarta Metropolitan Police (Polda Metro Jaya) have named 49 people as suspects in the rioting that occurred during a public demonstration near the DPR/MPR complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday (27/8).
Head of Public Relations of Polda Metro Jaya, Senior Commissioner Budi Hermanto, explained that of the total suspects, 44 adults are being handled by the Directorate of General Criminal Investigation (Ditreskrimum).
“Meanwhile, five others are children in conflict with the law, and their handling is being carried out by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation for Women and Children Services (PPA) and Women and Children Protection (PPO),” he said in a statement in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The naming of suspects is part of a total of 322 people who were detained on Thursday (27/8), based on the latest verification and data synchronisation by investigators.
Budi added that the remaining 273 people who had been detained have now been released by the police after undergoing examination and verification processes.
He also clarified the details regarding three people who were found carrying sharp weapons.
This information is a breakdown of the suspects’ roles in the case handling, not a number of new suspects added separately.
Thus, the latest official data that serves as the reference for the investigation to date is 49 suspects out of the total 322 people detained.
Previously, Polda Metro Jaya had named 45 of them as suspects in connection with the rioting following the public demonstration around the DPR/MPR building on Thursday (27/8).
Director of General Criminal Investigation (Dirkrimum) of Polda Metro Jaya, Senior Commissioner Iman Imannudin, said that from the examination results and investigation process, the police have mapped the perpetrators into six role clusters.
“Based on evidence and witnesses in the investigation process, we have now named 45 people as suspects for vandalism and assault, and three as suspects for misuse of sharp weapons,” said Iman at a press conference in Jakarta on Friday (28/8).
He detailed that the first cluster is a group of minors (under 18 years old) totalling 153 people who have been handed over to the Sub-directorate of Women and Children Protection and Trafficking in Persons (PPA and TPPO) of Ditreskrimum Polda Metro Jaya for further investigation.
“The group of children consists of 25 school dropouts, two children aged 12, one child aged 13, three children aged 14, 23 children aged 15, 47 children aged 16, 64 children aged 17, and 10 people aged 18, with three of them being female,” explained Iman.
The second cluster includes 91 adults who fall into the category of ordinary rioters.
Meanwhile, the third cluster consists of 71 people suspected of damaging public facilities and committing assault after the demonstration, with 45 of them having been named as suspects.
Furthermore, the fourth cluster includes three people who were found carrying sharp weapons during the riot, all of whom have been named as suspects.
In addition to these four groups, investigators found legal facts regarding a fifth cluster that acted as mobilisers and financiers, as well as a sixth cluster tasked with recruiting masses to create the riot.