Police have arrested a man accused of beating up the son of a lawmaker on the Inner Ring Road highway — video of which circulated widely over the weekend.
Jakarta Metro Police spokesman Endra Zulpan said today that the man, identified as FM, has been named a suspect and charged with assault under Indonesia’s Criminal Code (KUHP), which carries a maximum sentence of nine years in prison.
On Saturday afternoon, the suspect’s Nissan X-Trail SUV was tearing down the left lane of the highway before suddenly changing lanes, grazing the victim’s car in the process.
“[The suspect] changed lanes to the right by cutting his way in and it was [done] pretty arrogantly,” Zulpan said.
The victim has been identified as JF, the youngest son of Indah Kurniawati, a member of the House of Parliament (DPR) from the PDI-P fraction (Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle), as well as the younger brother of actress Verlita Evelyn.
There was a heated debate between the two parties following the minor collision, culminating in FM assaulting JF. According to Zulpan, FM’s father, AFM, who was also traveling with his son at the time of incident, got out of the car and headbutted JF in the face, causing a bloody nose.
Warning: Violence
Pemukulan di toll tebet arah cawang. gatau kronologinya apa? pic.twitter.com/dbuOdxKMSz
— 🚗💨 (@apansa_kalengs) June 4, 2022
After the video went viral on Twitter, netizens managed to piece together AFM’s identity from the X-Trail’s license plate. AFM is the head of a mass organization called Bravo 5, which was a team of volunteers for Joko Widodo in the 2014 and 2019 presidential elections consisting of retired Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) soldiers.
JF sustained multiple injuries due to the beatings, mostly to the face, neck, and back. Indah said that her son threw up after the assault, and is still under observation at a hospital.
FM told the police that he assaulted JF because he was enraged after the traffic incident. AFM has yet to be charged, as he claims in the investigation that JF instigated the commotion.
Bravo 5 spokesman Ahmad Zazali said in a statement yesterday that JF flipped his middle finger towards FM and AFM in the overtake that preceded the assault. When both parties got out of their vehicles, Ahmad claims that JF attacked first.
“JF, with a raised tone and looking angry and defiant, hit AFM first. Seeing AFM being treated as such, FM defended [his father], leading to the fight,” Ahmad said.
