Terra Drone Fire: Victim's Mother Demands Company Accountability

The mother of a victim in the Terra Drone building fire, Mulyati, expressed disappointment while testifying as a witness in the trial of the alleged negligence case against the CEO of PT Terra Drone Indonesia, Michael Wisnu Wardhana. She claimed it was extremely difficult to communicate with PT Terra Drone representatives. “I am disappointed with PT Terra; contacting them was very difficult, even when I went to Bandung, my letters were not responded to. That’s the essence of my disappointment,” said Mulyati at the Central Jakarta District Court, quoting detikcom on Wednesday (15/4). Mulyati is the mother of Muhammad Apriyana, who had been working at PT Terra Drone for about eight months. Mulyati said she still vividly remembers the video of her son trying to escape during the building fire. “How did you learn of the cause of death?” asked the prosecutor. “Work accident, from what I saw, sir, for the late one. From that video, in my opinion, it did not meet the requirements because there was no emergency ladder, in my view, for what was returned to me, it was an accident,” said Mulyati. “Meanwhile, my son in the last video was trying to save himself. That’s how it was. I still remember it vividly,” she added. Mulyati said representatives from PT Terra Drone had visited her home to offer condolences. She hopes for accountability from PT Terra Drone because Apriyana left behind two young children. Victim’s mother cries At the same time, another victim’s mother from the Terra Drone office fire, Mimi Adriani Nasution, cried while recounting the last moments she saw her son’s body. Mimi described receiving news of the PT Terra Drone building fire and then heading to RS Polri for autopsy purposes. Mimi said the doctor took saliva samples and filed teeth for identification at RS Polri. She said she briefly saw the final condition of her son’s body, which showed no burn marks. “When the shroud was opened, fresh blood was still flowing from my son’s nose. But I asked, what is my son’s condition, Doctor? Can I see? Alhamdulillah, Raihan’s condition had no burns,” said Mimi in response to the prosecutor. Mimi suspects her son died from inhaling toxins from the drone batteries in the building. She then cried while describing her son’s smiling face. “So, I conclude that Raihan inhaled poison. Because when I took my son Raihansyah, fresh blood kept flowing from his nose. And there was a gunpowder smell, like that, from my son’s body. It had been cleaned, his face was clean too,” said Mimi. “Alhamdulillah, I cried. Raihan was smiling like that. Raihan died smiling. Like that, sir. That’s what hurt me deeply,” continued Mimi while crying. She said her husband did not get to see their son’s body. She said at that time her husband was on his way back from Canada. “That was the last time I saw my late son, and around 8:30 on Wednesday night, I directly shrouded him. At that time, his father was still en route from Canada. So his father didn’t get to see his son’s body because he was still on the plane,” said Mimi. Nevertheless, Mimi said she has forgiven Michael. She hopes PT Terra Drone will provide appropriate compensation for all victims. “Perhaps regarding the company, perhaps Mr Michael, please provide appropriate compensation for this incident. Because your company isn’t a small one. It’s quite large. Who doesn’t know Terra Drone? I also know who Terra Drone is, who the owner is,” said Mimi. Three victim families object to being witnesses As many as three families of victims from the Terra Drone building fire stated objections to becoming witnesses in the trial of the alleged negligence case against the CEO of PT Terra Drone Indonesia, Michael Wisnu Wardhana. The objections were conveyed through letters. “And furthermore, there are three more from the victims’ families who conveyed through letters. This is from Mrs Rosminda Butar-Butar, this has already been BAP-ed. Basically stating, and also Mrs Retno Cahyaningsih and Tan Chun Bie,” said the chief judge Purwanto S Abdullah at the Central Jakarta District Court. The reason these three witnesses did not want to testify in the trial was because they did not want to relive the fire incident. The witnesses stated they had discussed with family members regarding the decision. “Basically, from these three witnesses, it is stated that to provide witness testimony in the trial, with this I convey that I object to attending the trial as mentioned in the summons letter,” said the judge reading the objection letter. The witnesses also said they have started new lives after the Terra Drone building fire incident. Regarding the loss of family members in the fire incident, the witnesses stated they have settled the case peacefully with Terra Drone. Promise of scholarships to victims’ children Meanwhile, Michael Wisnu Wardhana apologised to the families of the victims in the PT Terra Drone building fire. Michael personally shook hands with the victims’ families and promised to form a scholarship team for the victims’ children at the Central Jakarta District Court. Michael said this fire incident has also been a heavy burden on his heart. “I want to convey my deepest condolences and apologies for this incident. I also want to say that this has indeed brought sadness to us as colleagues, and since that day, it has carried a very heavy burden in our hearts because of the loss of our colleagues,” said Michael. Michael said his side is trying to lighten the burden on the victims’ families. He hopes the victims’ families will forgive him. “With that empathy, we are indeed trying to lighten the burden of the fathers and mothers.”