Three PDI-P members held for murder

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya

East Java Police said on Monday they had arrested three executives of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) as suspects in last month's multiple murder of fellow politician R. Suwarjo, his wife and son in Bondowoso regency.

"The three suspects confessed to killing Suwarjo, his son and wife after we presented them with material evidence, such as a jacket and a shirt one of them wore during the incident," East Java Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Endro Wardoyo told The Jakarta Post.

He identified the suspects by their initials as Sct, deputy treasurer of the PDI-P Bondowoso branch, E, leader of the local Banteng Muda Indonesia youth group affiliated to the party, and Ft, an elected councillor from the same party.

The three are being detained at the provincial police headquarters for interrogation.

Endro said that a preliminary investigation showed that the murder of Suwarjo, who was elected a PDI-P councillor in the April 5 legislative election, was politically motivated.

The suspects admitted that Ft, who was listed second on the PDI-P list of legislative candidates, could not accept his defeat to Suwarjo, who was listed first, in the election, Endro explained.

He added that Sct was disillusioned by the rising political career of the younger Suwarjo after the victim won a seat in the Bondowoso legislative council.

Endro said the suspects also confessed to sending a text message revealing plans by E and Sct to flee after executing Suwarjo's family.

The police are developing the case to see whether the multiple murder involved others, Endro added.

It remains unclear who masterminded the murder.

Besuki Police chief Sr. Comr. Winarso said Sct was declared a suspect following a tipoff from locals who discovered the jacket and shirt near the scene.

"That Sct has officially been named a suspect is no surprise because the police suspected him from the beginning," Winarso said, adding that Sct lied in a previous statement he made to the police.

Suwarjo, 60, a former deputy chairman of the PDI-P Bondowoso branch, was murdered on July 14 in his family home.

His body was found tied to a chair in the back of the house, while his 60-year-old wife Wiwik, and son Dodi, 28, were found dead on the living room floor.

The police were investigating whether the murders were political motivated or a case of revenge. Robbery was immediately ruled out as no valuables were stolen.

The three victims' bodies were badly bruised, indicating that they had been repeatedly hit with blunt objects. They had also been stabbed.

Suwarjo is the third politician to have been murdered in East Java province over the past nine months.

The last murder, which was thought to be politically motivated, also happened in East Java in December, when Asmuni, the advisory board chairman of the National Awakening Party's (PKB) Lumajang branch, was killed by six people wearing masks and armed with machetes who broke into his house.

Asmuni was the second PKB party member to be murdered in December after Rafiq, a PKB activist in Jember regency.