Suspect Took Victim to Hospital Before Fleeing, Claimed Injuries Were from Accident

Bandung – Amid the investigation into the alleged confinement and torture of YTR (29), a new fact has emerged that has drawn the attention of investigators. Taufik Hidayat (30), the man who has now been named a suspect, did not immediately flee after the victim’s condition deteriorated. Police revealed that Taufik actually took YTR to seek medical assistance. However, shortly after the victim was referred to a larger hospital, the perpetrator’s whereabouts became unknown.

Head of Public Relations for the West Java Regional Police, Senior Commissioner Hendra Rochmawan, stated that based on the examination of several witnesses, Taufik arrived with the boarding house keeper, Resa, when taking the victim for treatment. The victim was initially taken to Ujungberung Regional General Hospital. Because the injuries required further treatment, YTR was then referred to Hasan Sadikin Hospital (RSHS) in Bandung. Afterwards, the perpetrator reportedly abandoned the victim and chose to flee. “Based on the statements of witnesses, the victim, and also the escort R (Resa), after being dropped off there, the person concerned eventually fled,” he said on Wednesday.

Investigators also revealed a discrepancy between the explanation given by the perpetrator and the findings of the medical team that examined the victim. According to Hendra, while at RSHS Bandung, the suspect claimed that the injuries suffered by the victim were the result of an accident. However, the results of the forensic examination instead pointed to suspected violence that occurred over a considerable period. “One of the forensic doctors who conveyed the post-mortem et repertum results to us said that it was initially claimed to be an accident, but the doctor’s assessment concluded that this was a form of injury resulting from violence over a quite long period,” he said.

This finding is now one of the crucial elements being investigated by officers to uncover the sequence of events experienced by the victim. Meanwhile, YTR’s condition is said to have not yet fully recovered. The victim is still undergoing treatment at RSHS Bandung with assistance from the medical team and relevant parties. Police also acknowledged that not all information can yet be obtained from the victim because the recovery process is still ongoing. “With the current condition, we are still getting very minimal information, as the condition has not yet recovered 100 percent,” he stated.