Police have arrested and disclosed to the public the identity of the man in the latest viral road rage video involving a Toyota Fortuner, and he is somebody who had previously become the subject of controversy after he was named on Ukraine’s list of enemies.
Giorgio Ramadhan, 24, was arrested after a conflict on the road with a rideshare driver in a Honda Brio spilled over into full-blown road rage on Sunday morning in Senopati, South Jakarta. Footage showed Giorgio ramming his SUV into the small city car, before the suspect stepped out and attacked the victim’s car with an airsoft gun and a katana.
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The South Jakarta Metro Police held a press conference for the case yesterday evening, in which they announced that Giorgio has been charged with property destruction and threat of violence under the Criminal Code (KUHP), which carry maximum prison sentences of two years and eight months and one year, respectively.
Indonesian netizens were quick to point out that Giorgio was last year placed in Ukraine’s Myrotvorets, an NGO that lists people the Eastern European nation considers enemies of their state.
According to the Myrotvorets website, Giorgio was an exchange student in Holland when he violated Ukraine’s border “to penetrate the territory of Ukraine occupied by Russian terrorist gangs in the Donbas.” He also allegedly “participated in anti-Ukrainian propaganda events.”
Police say they will look into the allegations but stressed that they have no relation to the traffic incident. Authorities did note, however, that Giorgio had recently completed his undergraduate studies and is now working as an intern in Jakarta.
Giorgio has apologized to the Brio driver, Ari, for the attack. However, his lawyer maintains that Giorgio was not necessarily at fault for the initial collision between the two vehicles, which supposedly triggered his road rage.
“As he was leaving Ashta District 8 via the exit gate, our client’s car collided with the Brio on the road, causing damage to [the Fortuner’s] right side of the bumper,” Giorgio’s lawyer, Revi Lancaka, said yesterday.
“Our client panicked and he was traumatized from the many incidents in which he became a hit-and-run victim.”
Revi added that right after the collision, Ari rolled down his window and cursed at Giorgio. The 24-year-old then chased after Ari, leading to the events depicted in the viral video, in order to demand accountability from the rideshare driver.
Ari’s previous statement alleged that Giorgio was driving his Fortuner the wrong way and had blocked his path on the road. The two cars honked at each other until Giorgio gave way and cursed at Ari. Giorgio then chased after Ari, leading to the events depicted in the viral video. Ari made no mention of an initial collision between the two cars.
