Many Indonesian social media leapt to the defense of a man who police had named a murder suspect for allegedly killing two criminals in self-defense after they attempted to rob him. Police appeared to relent to netizens’ cries of injustice by dropping the murder charges against him yesterday.
The man, a 34-year-old farmer named Murtede (nicknamed Amaq Sinta), was accosted on April 10 while riding his motorcycle to East Lombok to deliver food to his mother. According to reports, two men on motorbikes, each armed with sharp weapons, forced him to stop. Two more robbers quickly showed up and together the four attacked Amaq Sinta after the latter refused to give up his bike.
Local outlets reported that, despite it being one against four, Amaq Sinta prevailed and managed to single-handedly knock out his attackers. Two of them, P and OWP, died at the scene and their bodies were found hours later.
While Amaq Sinta’s actions were deemed heroic by many, he was named a suspect just two days after the incident. The two robbery suspects who managed to escape, a 32-year-old identified by his initials WH and a 17-year-old identified as HO, were named by police as witnesses to the murder.
“The robbery victim [Amaq Sinta] was charged with Article 338 of the Criminal Code on manslaughter and Article 351 of the Criminal Code paragraph 3 on assault that leads to someone’s death,” Central Lombok Police Deputy Chief Comr. I Ketut Tamiana said on April 12 during a press conference.
Tamiana advised people to not drive around by themselves at night and refrain from carrying valuables so that they wouldn’t end up in the same situation as Amaq Sinta (i.e. being named a murder suspect for killing robbers in self-defense).
“Because in our country taking matters into our own hands is forbidden because it is against the law. At least don’t go outside during evenings by yourself,” he said.
Tamiana’s statements raised eyebrows as many robbers in Indonesia (locally known as begal) do not care how many people are on a bike and, most of the time, their main target is the bike itself.
Many noted that Tamiana’s statement about “taking matter into one’s hands” contradicted Article 49 of the Criminal Code, which provides a legal justification for the use of violence in self-defense.
To say that Indonesian netizens were furious would be an understatement. Numerous memes and cartoons ridiculing the police appeared on Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. Some netizens even demanded that Tamiana be demoted.
“So from now on, whenever a robbery happens, we should just politely hand over our belongings?” asked one Internet user mockingly.
A mass protest occurred on April 13, demanding Amaq Sinta’s release as well as questioning the Central Lombok Police’s logic in naming him a suspect in the first place.
The West Nusa Tenggara Police (after taking over the case from the Central Lombok Police) announced that the charges against Murtede were dropped yesterday. According to an official, the murdered robbers’ family members initially wanted an investigation into the killings because they were unaware that their relatives had been involved in a robbery.
“[After finding out about the robbery] the family members accepted [that they cannot press charges but the case was still viral on social media,” the official said.
Both Amaq Sinta and his wife thanked the police for deciding to drop the charges and release him, citing that he can now focusing on being his family’s provider. He also did not forget to express a most sincere gratitude to the public
“Thank you to all public members who have given support until I can be free,” Amaq Sinta said yesterday.
Reader Interactions