Revealed: Tattooed man in Badung stabbed to death; four accomplices placed the body in a sack
Case of the discovery of a buried corpse with initials DAD (25) on vacant land in Banjar Cabe, Desa Darmasaba, Abiansemal District, Badung, has been disclosed. Badung Police arrested four suspects believed to have planned the murder of the victim. The tattooed man, who worked as an employee at a motorcycle wash, was beaten to death. His body was then placed in a sack and buried on vacant land on Jalan Antasura, Banjar Cabe, Desa Darmasaba.
“The suspects admitted they planned to murder the victim and take the victim’s valuable items to sell. The plan was to divide the proceeds from selling those items equally,” said Badung Police Chief AKBP Joseph Edward Purba during a case briefing at the Badung Police Headquarters, on Wednesday (20/5/2026).
The case was uncovered when residents found a decomposing corpse on Tuesday (12/5/2026) around 16:00 WITA. However, the murder occurred earlier, on Thursday (7/5/2026) at around 02:40 WITA.
“The execution location was at the motor wash where the victim worked,” said AKBP Joseph Edward Purba.
The Satreskrim (Criminal Investigation) team of Badung Police then conducted investigations until they finally arrested four suspects in Jember Regency, East Java, two days ago. The four suspects are DF (20) from East Lombok, MKH (24) from Jember, and two underage suspects with initials AFP (17) and IPR (16) from Jember.
“We secured the suspects in East Java, Jember Regency, at two different locations. One location had three suspects and the other had one,” explained Kasatreskrim of Badung Police, AKP Azarul Ahmad.
Ahmad explained the arrests of the four suspects were carried out sequentially in nearly parallel time. Police were forced to shoot the main suspect, DF, in the leg as he allegedly resisted when being secured.
“The person concerned attempted to flee. He resisted officers. The subdued suspect is identified as DF,” AKP Azarul Ahmad asserted.
Motives: Revenge and Targeting Victim’s Property
Based on the investigation, the motive for the killing is suspected to be a grudge by the perpetrator DF, who admitted he was frequently taunted by the victim when they worked together at the motor wash. In addition to resentment, the suspects also sought to seize the victim’s valuables, which originated from Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara.
“While working side by side at Mae Wash, the main suspect was often subjected to insults, including being told he resembled a certain race. Based on that long-standing grievance, it became one of the motives for the murder,” said AKP Azarul Ahmad.
Police said that among the four suspects, only DF knew the victim because they both worked at the motorcycle wash. The other three suspects were DF’s roommates in Kuta, Badung.
Victim Beaten and Slashed
The victim died after being bludgeoned by the four suspects. Police revealed the victim sustained a hard blow to the head with an empty glass bottle and a damaged iron chair. He was also punched and kicked until he collapsed.
That condition was worsened by a stab wound to the back with a foam-cutting knife. The fatal wound occurred when the main suspect repeatedly slashed the victim’s throat until death was confirmed at the scene.
After killing the victim, the suspects sold the victim’s motorcycle for Rp 1.8 million. Meanwhile, the victim’s phone was taken by DF, and the proceeds from its sale were not shared with the two underage suspects.
For their actions, the suspects are currently detained at Badung Police Headquarters. Police have questioned 11 witnesses and charged the suspects with multiple provisions: Primary Article 459 in conjunction with Article 20 of the Indonesian Penal Code on premeditated murder with a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment, and Subordinate Article 479(3) of the Penal Code on theft resulting in the death of a person with a maximum penalty of 15 years.
“Regarding the evidence of the knife and the sack that were thrown into the river and have not yet been found, we are continuing to search,” said AKP Azarul Ahmad. “As for the two underage suspects, the charges remain the same because we are applying the National Penal Code,” he concluded.
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