Yet another horrifying acid attack has taken place in Jakarta, following the attack on senior Corruption Eradication Committee (KPK) senior investigator Novel Baswedan last month.
Early Sunday morning, a couple of teenagers identified as Nia Ayu Permatasari and Syaiful Anwar were riding a motorcycle along with several friends around Duren Sawit, East Jakarta. As they were passing a narrow suburban street, several other motorcyclists who were driving from the opposite lane threw acid in their direction, splashing Nia and Syaiful.
“I don’t know who the attackers were,” Nia said, as quoted by Tempo yesterday.
Nia and Syaiful are now being treated at Persahabatan Hospital in East Jakarta. Nia received acid burns on her face, chest, and arms, while Syaiful got acid in his eyes.
The victims’ families have reported the incident to the Duren Sawit sub-precinct, but no arrests have been made.
On April 11, senior KPK investigator Novel Baswedan became the victim of an acid attack by a couple of unidentified perpetrators on a motorcycle as he left a mosque after dawn prayer. Many have inferred a connection between the attack on Novel and the fact that he’s leading an investigation into a mega-corruption scandal allegedly involving dozens of the country’s high ranking politicians and lawmakers.
The state has pledged to pay for the treatment of Novel’s eyes, which were burned in the acid attack. Early reports indicated he has only retained 30% of his vision following initial treatments.
