North Sumatra Police chief Com. Gen. Agung Setya Effendi (left), accompanied by Bukit Barisan Military commander Maj Gen Mochammad Hasan (right), talks to reporters during a press briefing in Karo regency, North Sumatra, on July 8, 2024. - Antara
MEDAN: North Sumatra Police named on Thursday (July 11) a third suspect allegedly involved in an arson attack that killed a journalist and his family in Karo regency in the province.
“We have named B as a new suspect in the case,” provincial police chief Comr Gen Agung Setya Imam Effendi said on Thursday, identifying the person by his initial.
On Sunday, the police arrested two suspects, identified by their initials RAS and YST, for allegedly setting 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.
“B ordered YST to burn [the house], and gave them Rp 130,000 [around US$8] to buy fuel to set the victim’s home on fire,” police spokesperson Sr Comr Hadi Wahyudi said.
A security camera recording obtained by the police allegedly shows RAS and YST surveying Sempurna’s house at 3am 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 3.40am. Investigators obtained two bottles allegedly filled with gasoline used by the suspects to burn Sempurna’s house.
After setting the fire, RAS and YST fled the scene using a motorbike and threw away the bottles around 30m from the house.
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.
In a statement to reporters on Monday, Agung said the suspects’ actions were taken as individuals rather than as part of a certain group.
Agung made the statement accompanied by commander of Bukit Barisan Military Command, Maj Gen Mochamad Hasan and the command’s military police chief Col Uncok A. Simanjuntak. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
