A teenager arrested as one of the main suspects of the murder of a military cadet in Bali over the weekend will get no special treatment because he’s believed to be the son of a DPRD regional councilman, says Bali’s police chief.
Even if an official committed a crime, police would still arrest him, so that goes the same for his son, Bali Police Chief Insp. Gen. Petrus Golose said.
Six suspects were arrested over the murder of 20-year-old military cadet, Prada Yanuar Setiawan of Manggarai, Flores, police told the press early on Monday.
Two more suspects have been added to that count in more recent national headlines. Between two different crime scenes, eight suspects in total have now been arrested, Golose confirmed on Monday evening.
Setiawan was ambushed by what was alleged as a motorcycle gang, beaten and stabbed to death early on Sunday morning in Jimbaran on the Jl. Ngurah Rai By Pass, directly in front of Taman Griya.
The cadet had been with a friend, who was injured with a broken jaw and is currently in intensive care at Denpasar’s Sanglah Hospital.
The suspected murder weapon, a curved knife with a black handle, was taken from suspects at the scene.
Police say they will hold a crime reconstruction—routine for police in Bali to determine the role of each suspect.
“There will be a reconstruction to see the roles of each, who stopped whom, who beat whom, who assaulted whom. We need to know these roles so we can determine who the main suspect is and who was involved in the attack,” Police spokesman, Commissioner Martinus Sitompul said at police headquarters in South Jakarta on Monday, as quoted by Detik.
Because the case involves minors, it will be treated differently, with suspects receiving counseling during the investigation process, explained Sitompul.
So even though one of the suspects will supposedly not get special treatment for being the son of an official, he and his other underage co-suspects will get special treatment as minors.
“Yes, there is special treatment for minors under the age of 18 years old, under the Child Protection Act, specifically for incidents where the perpetrators are minors. It will be a quick investigation process.
“The suspects will also be held in a special place, not put together with other police detainees or prisoners.”
Despite previous reports that it was a motorcycle gang that attacked the cadet and his friend, Sitompul says the attackers were not part of a gang, but just a group of teens ‘looking for excitement.’
“They are from different schools, they are friends,” Sitompul said, referring to the attackers.
“They made a convoy to go around, just for fun, but it led to unlawful acts, resulting in the death of another person.”
Responding to the fatal stabbing, Bali Police announced this week that it is forming a special street crime team to target muggings and motorcycle gangs.
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