A 29-year-old pilot named Nicolaus Anjar Aji Suryo Putro, who was a first officer at Lion Group’s Wings Air, was found dead in his room at a boarding house in Kalideres, West Jakarta after he allegedly hanged himself on Monday.
Nicolaus was found dead in his room by his little brother, who lives in the same boarding house but in a different room. Police have ruled out homicide for the time being.
The news of Nicolaus’ alleged suicide went viral on social media, accompanied with the rumor that authorities found a job termination letter, which contained a IDR7 billion (US$496,214) fine for an unspecified sanction, in his room.
Police investigating the case say that there was no letter in a physical form, but they found a copy of it in Nicolaus’ phone.
“[The victim] had been terminated according to the letter, which was dated October 24,” Kalideres Police Chief Indra Maulana told CNBC Indonesia yesterday.
Indra added that the letter was addressed to Nicolaus’ parents in Solo, Central Java.
“It may be one of the causes, maybe he was depressed because of the termination. But we don’t know for sure and we are looking into it and questioning the family,” Indra said.
Wings Air has released a statement expressing their condolences for Nicolaus’ death, but did not disclose what Nicolaus had done to receive his termination and sanction. However, the airline vaguely mentioned that all of its employees must uphold Wings Air’s values in order to ensure safety for passengers.
Suicide is often a taboo topic in Indonesia while depression is often brushed off as a sign of weakness in the sufferer. Indonesia currently does not have a dedicated government-run suicide prevention hotline, so if you or anyone you know is suffering from depression and/or contemplating suicide, you can get help from several local NGOs dealing with mental health and suicide prevention, such as saveyourselves.id.
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