July 10, 2024
KARO – The North Sumatra Police arrested two suspects and are pursuing another person allegedly involved in an arson case that killed a journalist and his family in Karo regency in the province.
The two apprehended suspects, identified by their initials R and Y, allegedly set fire on June 27 to the house of Sempurna Pasaribu, 47, a journalist for the police-owned Tribarata TV. The fire killed Sempurna, his wife, their 12-year-old son and 3-year-old grandchild. The suspects were arrested on Sunday.
The police are currently pursuing another suspect who allegedly ordered R and Y to burn Sempurna’s house, North Sumatra Police chief Comr. Gen. Agung Setya Effendi said. Investigators also probed several names allegedly connected to the case, with Agung saying that it would be possible for the police to name more suspects in the crime.
“We are gathering evidence before naming them as new suspects,” the police chief said during a press briefing on Monday.
While the police were still investigating whether R and Y were paid by the mastermind, Agung said the suspects’ actions were individual rather than part of a certain group. Agung was accompanied by commander of Bukit Barisan Military Command Maj. Gen. Mochamad Hasan and the command’s military police chief Col. Uncok A. Simanjuntak.
Previously, an independent fact-finding team formed by journalist associations, noted that events surrounding the incident were suspicious, alleging that Sempurna’s death could be related to his reporting of an illegal gambling incident in the regency that allegedly involved Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel.
Several witnesses also claimed that the fire was triggered by spilled gasoline at the victim’s house, where the family used to sell gasoline from a kiosk.
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According to a security camera recording obtained by the police, R and Y allegedly surveyed Sempurna’s house at 3 a.m. on June 27 to make sure it was the victim’s before pouring two bottles of gasoline and starting the fire. The recording showed that the house was engulfed by fire at around 3:40 a.m.
Investigators obtained two bottles allegedly filled with gasoline used by the suspects to burn Sempurna’s house. After setting the fire, R and Y fled the scene using a motorbike and threw away the bottles around 30 meters from the house, Agung said.
The police chief added that investigators used scientific criminal investigation methods to conclude the cause of the fire based on various perspectives and repeated, deep probing of the crime scene.
“The scientific approach is to make sure that the incident was in fact criminal.”
The police were still investigating the motives behind the arson.
“We will examine whatever the motives were that the suspects confessed, with the available evidence,” Agung said.
Sempurna’s daughter Eva Meliana Pasaribu filed a report of homicide to the North Sumatra Police on Monday. Accompanied by public lawyers of the Medan Legal Aid Institute (LBH Medan), he urged the police and the Bukit Barisan Military Command to investigate the case thoroughly.
The Press Council and the Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) previously called on the National Police and the TNI to investigate the case fairly and impartially and punish the perpetrators for violating the Press Law that guarantees the protection of journalists working in Indonesia.
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In the Monday press briefing, Bukit Barisan commander Hasan asserted the military’s support for the police in solving the case completely.
“The TNI, especially the Bukit Barisan Military Command, gives our full support for the North Sumatra Police’s investigation because we’re also mentioned in the media reports,” he said.
Previously, TNI spokesperson Maj. Gen. Nugraha Gumilar called on the public to reserve their judgment and wait until investigators wrapped up the investigations, while asserting the military’s commitment to imposing stern punishments on any soldiers found guilty of involvement in Sempurna’s death.