Police arrest 2 out of 3 suspects in murder of ride sharing driver in W. Java

The last message received from a ride sharing driver who was believed to have been murdered in Indonesia. Photo: WhatsApp
The last message received from a ride sharing driver who was believed to have been murdered in Indonesia. Photo: WhatsApp

Police have arrested two suspects in the murder of a ride-sharing driver, identified as Soeharto, whose case was widely reported nationally last week after a screenshot of a WhatsApp chat detailing what appeared to be his final moments went viral.

The two suspects, identified by their initials L and R, were arrested in Indramayu Regency, West Java yesterday. The police say they are still pursuing one more suspect.

Last Monday, Soeharto was driving passengers, believed to be the suspects, from Bekasi to Subang Regency in West Java. His body was found some 50 miles away in Sumedang Regency the next morning.

“He (Soeharto) was strangled and beaten. Some of the bruises were from being beaten. Other bruises were from impact after he was thrown out of the car,” West Java Police General Crimes Directorate Director Umar Surya Fana told Detik today.

The police have yet to officially reveal the suspects’ motive for killing Soeharto, who leaves behind a wife and a small child. However, they did confiscate a stolen car — not Soeharto’s — from L and R, hinting that they may be car thieves.

In the now-viral WhatsApp chat screenshot, Soeharto shared his location to a friend, telling him, “If anything happens to me, this is my location,” followed with, “I’m being cornered bro.” His colleagues said they had a hard time calling Soeharto that Monday evening, and once they did, he sounded panicked and immediately hung up. That appears to be the last time anyone got in touch with him.



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