JAKARTA: West Sumatra Police chief Insp Gen Suharyono has stirred widespread controversy amid pressure for the force to be transparent regarding the suspicious death of a boy in Padang, who allegedly was beaten to death by officers.
The death of the 13-year-old schoolboy, identified by his initials AM, has sparked nationwide outrage and calls for police reform after news reports about the alleged police brutality circulated on social media.
His body was found under a bridge on June 9 with multiple injuries, and his family alleged that he died after being tortured by police officers, who stopped him and his friends on suspicion of attempting to start a brawl.
The West Sumatra Police have denied the allegations, saying AM died when his fractured ribs punctured his lungs, a fatal injury the police said AM sustained after jumping from a 12-metre-high bridge to avoid the police.
But the Padang Legal Aid Institute (LBH Padang), which represents the family of the boy, said on Tuesday (July 2) that Suharyono and his ranks attempted to keep the family from seeking justice and tried to distract the attention of the public from the alleged torture.
“The police chief has been inconsistent with his comments on the case,” LBH Padang said in a statement.
On Sunday, Suharyono said his investigators had closed their probe and concluded that AM was killed when he jumped from a bridge into the river to avoid police detention. Two days later, the West Sumatra Police spokesperson backtracked on Suharyono’s comments, saying that the case was still being investigated.
Suharyono has also said that the police will look for those spreading the allegation that the boy was tortured by police, claiming that the police were “the victims of a trial by the media”. This sparked a round of criticism on social media.
LBH Padang, along with rights group the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), reported Suharyono to the National Police's Internal Affairs Division (Propam) for alleged serious ethics violations. They also demanded that Suharyono and all officers involved in AM’s alleged torture be discharged from the police.
The LBH Padang lawyers also said that officials from the police hospital in Padang did not give access to the autopsy results and made it difficult for the family to retrieve the body even though the autopsy had been completed.
Previously, government-sanctioned independent agencies the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) demanded transparency in the police investigation into the death of AM.
Responding to growing public concern, National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo promised on Tuesday transparency in the West Sumatra Police investigation into AM’s death, saying that Propam and the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) are monitoring the case.
The family and lawyers of AM are in Jakarta this week, visiting several state institutions, such as Komnas HAM, and media organisations in hopes of finding support in their search for justice.
“We will continue to ask for help from those with influence to push for a thorough investigation into his death,” the boy’s father said during a press conference on Wednesday.
Six witnesses in the case have requested witness protection according to the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK), as reported by Antara.
An initial report from LBH Padang also claimed that officers had beaten several other teenagers who were among at least 18 teenagers on motorcycles rounded up by officers on the bridge at dawn on June 9 for allegedly planning to participate in a brawl.
They reportedly were brought to Kuranji Police station. Suharyono said on Sunday that 17 officers are now under internal investigation on allegations of unethical conduct during the arrest of the 18 teenagers. But he insisted that the ethics case had nothing to do with AM’s death, Antara reported.
The National Police have frequently come under fire for their excessive use of force in recent years when dispersing protesters and controlling crowds they perceive as potentially violent or disrupting public order.
In a report released on Monday, the day when the National Police celebrated their 78th anniversary, Kontras said it has recorded 645 instances of alleged police violence that injured more than 700 people and killed 38 others from July 2023 to June 2024. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
