Jayapura– The Jayawijaya Police have named nine individuals as suspects in the arson attack on the Papua Pegunungan Regional Electoral Commission (KPU) office on Wednesday, August 14, 2024. Of these, five suspects are currently in custody, while the remaining four have been placed on the wanted list (DPO) for evading arrest.
In addition to the arson case, five other individuals have also been charged for possessing sharp weapons during the incident, bringing the total number of detainees to ten.
Jayawijaya Police Chief, AKBP Heri Wibowo S.I.K., through the Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit, AKP Yulianus Samberi S.I.K., stated that initially, 85 people were apprehended, comprising 73 men and 12 women. Following investigations, 70 individuals were released, leaving nine suspects, four of whom remain at large after escaping police custody.
“We are currently detaining five suspects who were found in possession of sharp weapons during the arson attack on the KPU office located on Hom-Hom Street, Wamena,” said AKP Samberi on Monday, August 19, 2024.
He further explained that a case review had been conducted to formally charge the nine suspects involved in the arson, resulting in recommendations to charge an additional five individuals under the emergency law for illegal weapon possession, as stipulated in Article 2, Paragraph 1.
“The five detained arsonists have been identified by their initials KW, RG, GW, JW, and DK. The other four suspects remain on the wanted list. For the possession of sharp weapons, the suspects are identified as MW, GM, SW, NW, and DJ. Meanwhile, 76 out of the 85 initially detained individuals have been released,” Yulianus disclosed.
Regarding the suspects’ roles in the arson, Samberi mentioned that they carried out the attack by dousing a car tire with gasoline before rolling it into the KPU office, igniting the blaze.
“As for the total damages from the arson, we are currently unable to estimate the full extent. Those responsible for assessing the damage are still out of the region. We plan to summon the KPU Secretary soon to determine the specific losses,” he concluded.
