Teacher in Balikpapan Beaten After Reprimanding Smoking Students, Three Named as Suspects

Police have named three people as suspects in the assault of a primary school teacher in East Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, a case that went viral on social media. The three suspects were arrested following an investigation into the incident, which was triggered after the victim reprimanded senior high school students for smoking while wearing their school uniforms. East Balikpapan Police Chief AKP Muhammad Chusen said the three suspects were arrested in the early hours of Monday (27/7/2026). They are two 15-year-old students with the initials FZ and FT, and a 30-year-old driver with the initials JS, who is FT’s uncle. “All three have been named as suspects. JS was taken into custody early this morning,” Chusen said. Although FZ and FT have also been named as suspects, they are not being detained because they are minors and still in education. “The two juvenile offenders are not detained because they are underage, still in school, and have been guaranteed by their parents with the obligation to report regularly,” he stated. The case was reported under police report number LP/B/111/VII/SPKT/2026/Polsek Balikpapan Timur/Polresta Balikpapan/Polda Kaltim, dated 21 July 2026. The suspects are charged under Article 262, paragraph (1) of Indonesian Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code. The victim has been identified as Muhammad Afdal (31), a primary school teacher residing in the Neo Lambada housing complex, East Balikpapan. The assault took place at Block B14, RT 33, Neo Lambada housing complex, Lamaru Village, East Balikpapan District, on Tuesday (21/7) at approximately 1.45 pm Central Indonesian Time.