Youth Missing in Ciliwung River After Fleeing Unidentified Pursuers

A young man named Ahmad Suwandi (26) is still the subject of a search operation after he was suspected of having drowned in the Ciliwung River, Tomang Banjir Kanal, Grogol Petamburan, West Jakarta, on Wednesday night. According to his family, the victim allegedly jumped into the river whilst trying to evade a group of unidentified people. The victim’s brother, Syaiful Bahri, said that his sibling was hanging out with two friends on the embankment. At around 11.30 p.m. Western Indonesia Time, they were approached by a group of unknown individuals. “Suddenly, there were these people, five of them, who looked like debt collectors. They tried to grab them,” Syaiful said at the scene on Thursday. Based on the information Syaiful received, his brother and his friends tried to run away from the unidentified pursuers. Whilst his friends fled towards the road, his panicked brother chose to run towards the river and jumped in. According to Syaiful, his brother, who worked as a warehouse labourer, had never been in trouble before. Syaiful also did not know the reason his brother was being chased. “As far as I know, I often communicate with his friends, and they always said he was fine and had no problems,” Syaiful added. Syaiful said that his brother’s friends, who managed to escape, were later questioned by local officials about what had actually happened. During the interrogation, they insisted there was no indication of any reason for the victim to be chased by the unknown group. “They were just hanging out, there was no indication of anything. There was nothing, then suddenly these five people surrounded my brother and his friends,” he said. The victim’s friend, Davi, explained that on that night, the unknown group suddenly approached the victim who was hanging out. “He was with his friends at the time. His friends ran downwards, but Ahmad ran towards the river,” Davi explained. Davi said the unknown group arrived on motorbikes and were not seen carrying sharp weapons or any other arms. “The victim managed to swim for a bit, around midnight. When I looked towards the middle of the river, he was waving his hands and was already gasping for air,” Davi explained. Meanwhile, the Head of Operations for the West Jakarta Fire and Rescue Sub-department, Syaiful Kahfi, stated that the search process was still being carried out by Regional Disaster Management Agency officers by combing the river. “As of now, the individual has not been found,” he said. Based on the report he received, a person fell into the river after reportedly being chased by a number of unidentified people. “The cause is not really known; when officers arrived, the person had already drowned,” he explained.