Police State Retired JICT Worker Murdered After Catching Burglar
Police have stated that Ermanto Usman (65), a retired employee of Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT), was murdered after catching a burglar committing theft at his residence. During interrogation, the suspect Sudirman alias Yuda (28) claimed he was startled when Ermanto’s wife awoke and discovered him in the act of theft. As a result, Sudirman struck the victim with a crowbar that he had been using to prise open a window.
“The suspect was committing theft at the victim’s house when the victim woke up upon hearing an alarm to prepare for sahur (pre-dawn meal). When the female victim turned on the electricity, she encountered the suspect,” said Metro Jaya Police Regional Crime Unit Director Kombes Iman Imanuddin at a press conference on Wednesday (11 March).
“The suspect spontaneously struck the female victim with the crowbar that had previously been used to prise open the window. Spontaneously used to hit the female victim,” he added.
Iman stated that when suspect Sudirman saw Ermanto sitting in the bedroom, he attacked the victim without mercy.
“When hitting the female victim, because the bedroom door was open, the suspect saw the male victim sitting down. In panic, the suspect then immediately attacked the male victim who had just woken up and was sitting on the bed,” he said.
Based on investigation findings, according to Iman, Sudirman’s actions were purely motivated by economic necessity.
“We did not find any other motive for this incident, other than the theft motive or the murder committed in connection with the theft committed by the suspect,” he stated.
In this case, Sudirman has been charged under Article 458 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code, Article 458 paragraph (3) of the Criminal Code, and Article 479 paragraph (3) of the Criminal Code, facing a sentence of up to 20 years imprisonment.
“At present, the suspect is being detained and is currently undergoing detention at the Metro Jaya Police headquarters detention facility,” said Iman.
Previously, Ermanto Usman died at his residence in Jatibening, Pondok Gede, Bekasi, West Java on Monday (2 March). In the incident, Ermanto’s wife also sustained injuries and continued to receive medical treatment at a hospital.
The incident was only discovered by their son during the sahur period. At that time, the victim’s son became suspicious because his parents had not woken him for sahur until 04:00 Western Indonesia Time.
“When he woke up he was shocked, ‘well this is almost imsak’, so he went downstairs. When he went down he noticed there was no response [from his parents], the lights were still off,” said Metro Bekasi City Police Criminal Investigation Unit Head Kompol Andi Muhammad Iqbal to journalists on Monday (2 March).
Andi stated that the victim’s son at that time could still hear his mother’s voice. However, when he approached, the bedroom door handle was already damaged and could not be opened.
After investigation, police successfully apprehended the murder suspect named Sudirman alias Yuda in Cilincing, North Jakarta on Monday (9 March) at approximately 18:54 Western Indonesia Time.
Ermanto was known to be the Chairman of the JICT Retired Employees Association. Pelindo is the principal shareholder in JICT. He was also known as a port observer.
In recent times, he became known as one of the figures who exposed allegations of corruption related to port management. These allegations of corruption at the port company were brought to the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK).