Police Search for 3 Suspects as Picture Of Sailor’s Killing Begins to Emerge

Police are searching for three suspects in the mob killing of a Navy sailor that sparked a bloody string of reprisal attacks by his biker compatriots across Jakarta.

Five people are already in custody in connection with the murder, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said.

He did not provide more details on the three still on the run but said it appeared some of the investigators’ initial beliefs about the attackers were mistaken.

“The perpetrators did not know each other well,” Rikwanto said. “They do not belong to one group.”

One of the five already arrested, identified as A.J.I., told police that some 20 people were involved in the fatal attack on Arifin Siri.

“I was just about to go home at the time, but I heard a shout saying there was someone carrying a bayonet who had stabbed a motorcycle gang member,” said A.J.I., also known as Panse. “I joined and hit him once. I do not know the other perpetrators.”

Rikwanto said Arifin had been known to carry a bayonet, but that it appeared not to have been military-issue.

According to Arifin’s friend Albert, Rikwanto said, “the bayonet was possibly not an official one but the personal possession of sailor Arifin.”

Rikwanto said that when the attack began, Arifin wounded two people with the bayonet, but not seriously.

One of the victims was wounded inadvertently, Rikwanto said, as Arifin found himself suddenly facing the individual as he tried to escape the mob.

One of the five suspects arrested so far, identified as M.T. from Sunter Agung, is said to have been the instigator of the attack.

M.T., had reportedly forced his way into the cabin of a truck that was blocking the way of a motorcycle drag race on Jalan Benyamin Sueb in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, on March 31. Arifin was passing by and, drawn by the commotion, shouted to M.T., ordering him to get down.

M.T., Rikwanto said, then shouted, “There is an Ambonese carrying a bayonet!” prompting a crowd to rush toward the sailor.

M.T. allegedly then took part in stomping on the fallen sailor, finally snatching his wallet.

The other suspects, Rikwanto said, were believed to have beaten Arifin bare-handed or with sticks.

They each face at least five years in prison on charges of mob violence leading to death.

Arifin’s death triggered a gang war that played out on the streets of Jakarta in a week of terror that killed two people and injured more than a dozen.

The Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) confirmed that four of its members were part of the gang, suggesting that they may have known Arifin.