Investigators Have Questioned Three of Six Suspects
Three of the six suspects in the Kanjuruhan tragedy have been questioned by the East Java Regional Police. The police will examine additional witnesses to uncover the case that left 132 people dead.
By
Kompas Team
·6 minutes read
SURABAYA, KOMPAS — The East Java Regional Police investigation team has questioned three of the six suspects in the Kanjuruhan tragedy. Additional witnesses will also be questioned to reveal the chaos following the Liga 1 match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya at Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang, on 1 October 2022, which left 132 people dead.
The third suspect, namely the President Director of PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB) Akhmad Hadian Lukita, was questioned on Wednesday (12/10/2022). Two suspects, namely Chairman of the Executive Committee Abdul Haris and security officer Suko Sutrisno, were questioned the day before.
The other three suspects who are members of the National Police have not been questioned because they are awaiting a lawyer. The three are the Head of the Operational Section of the Malang Police, Comr. Wahyu Setyo Pranoto; Head of the Samapta Unit of the Malang Police, Adj. Comr. Bambang Sidik Ahmad; and the Commander of Company 3 of the Brimob Unit of the East Java Police, Adj. Comr. Hasdarman.
National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo also removed the Malang Police chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. Ferli Hidayat and transferred the East Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Nico Afinta Karokaro. In addition to the 132 deaths, this incident also left 26 people seriously injured —12 of whom are still being treated — and 579 people with moderate to minor injuries.
"The investigative team will examine additional witnesses," said the head of public relations of the East Java Police, Comr. Dirmanto.
In Jakarta, head of the public relations division, Insp. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo, said that additional witnesses to be questioned are from the Indonesia Soccer Association (PSSI), Indosiar as the television station that broadcasted the match, LIB and Arema. Police members who were on duty at Kanjuruhan Stadium are also being questioned. Information from the East Java Police stated that there were at least 15 additional witnesses to be questioned, namely eight people from the PSSI, Indosiar, LIB and Arema, as well as seven members of the National Police.
Following the process
Akhmad Lukita was present at the General Crime Investigation Directorate building of the East Java Police after 10:00 a.m. The questioning was still ongoing in the evening. Previously, the interrogation of Abdul and Suko lasted until close to midnight.
Before being questioned, Akhmad spoke to the media. "We, as law-abiding citizens, will follow the process," he said.
Meanwhile, Abdul, after being questioned on Tuesday night, said that he received 123 questions which were summarized in 30 pages. One of the questions was related to ticket sales, which were claimed to exceed the capacity of the stadium. According to Abdul, the committee printed 42,516 tickets, which Ferli, the chief of Police at that time, knew about.
We, as law-abiding citizens, will follow the process.
Abdul said that the committee printed almost 43,000 tickets. On the other hand, Malang Police sent a letter to limit ticket sales, which is a maximum of 38,000 tickets.
“We were called to confirm how many tickets were printed. We will hand over the rest to the Malang Police,” he said.
The club also received complaints from Aremania, Arema's support group, about limitations on ticket sales. The protest was submitted to the Malang Police, who then did not prohibit the sale of tickets.
From the findings of the National Police Commission, the stadium was full of spectators during the East Java derby. Outside, there were thousands of people crowding the stadium complex, some of whom had tickets but failed to enter the stadium.
After the match, chaos ensued when the police chased away fans who had entered the field. Police fired tear gas into the field and tribunes, triggering panic. Spectators trying to get out of the stadium were trapped because the stadium doors were locked or the ones that were open were too narrow.
Survivors treated
Malang regent, M Sanusi, said on Tuesday night (11/10) that he would bear the costs of eye treatments due to eye-irritation suffered by the survivors of the Kanjuruhan tragedy from tear gas. Residents are only asked to bring a certificate from the RT/RW or village head, stating that they are victims of the tear gas in Kanjuruhan.
Many survivors of this incident experienced eye-irritation due to the tear gas. They will be treated at Kanjuruhan Hospital, Lawang Hospital and three private health services in Malang. Sanusi asked sub-district and village officials to take the survivors to the nearest health care facility.
Separately, head of the Malang regency Health Office, Wiyanto Wijoyo, said that tear gas is prone to triggering irritation, especially when exposed to the gas in a closed space. Patients with eye-irritation are usually on out-patient medication. "There is bleeding on the eyelids which can heal," he said.
Meanwhile, the trauma healing team from the Malang city Police Headquarters visited the homes of survivors and their families to help restore their psychological condition. At least 30 residents of Malang city died in this incident.
In Jakarta, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) stated that from the preliminary information they received, there were indications of human rights violations in the tragedy in Kanjuruhan. The report on the findings of Komnas HAM will be submitted after obtaining information from the PSSI, PT LIB and television stations.
The chairman of the Joint Independent Fact-Finding Team (TGIPF) related to the Kanjuruhan tragedy, who is also the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD, said that the TGIPF will submit a report to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Friday (14/10). The team is in the process of systematically compiling the materials they have in order to further refine their recommendations.
We will draw up a concrete work agenda and ensure that such incidents do not recur.
Separately, the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) hope that the fatal incident in the world of soccer in Indonesia will not be repeated. They are committed to supporting and assisting the PSSI as well as cooperating with the government in reparations.
FIFA Development Project Coordinator Niko Nhouvannasak said FIFA is currently collecting data and information regarding the tragedy. "We will draw up a concrete work agenda and ensure that such incidents do not recur. The league can resume and the 2023 U-20 World Cup in Indonesia can take place safely," he said. (BRO/WER/DIA/Z10/Z08/CAS)