Indonesia delivery rider’s death: Police officer who drove armoured vehicle demoted
Chief Brigadier Rohmat was acting under orders from his team commander, who was dismissed a day earlier, an ethics hearing concluded.
A screengrab of Rohmat (centre), the police officer who drove the armoured vehicle that ran over delivery rider Affan Kurniawan, at his ethics hearing. (Image: Youtube/@TvRadioPolri)
JAKARTA: The police officer who drove an armoured vehicle that killed Jakarta delivery rider Affan Kurniawan on Aug 28 amid street protests has been demoted for seven years.
Chief Brigadier Rohmat was found guilty of violating police ethical standards at a hearing on Thursday (Sep 4) but escaped dismissal.
The National Police Commission (Kompolnas), an independent police watchdog, said Rohmat was acting under orders from his team commander Cosmas Kaju Gae, who was dismissed a day earlier.
Kompolnas Commissioner Ida Oetari Poernamasasi noted that the armoured vehicle had multiple blind spots, preventing Rohmat from fully monitoring his surroundings. It had a broken mirror on the left side, news outlet Jakarta Globe quoted Ida as saying. The situation outside was also chaotic.
“The sanction of a seven-year demotion matches the remainder of the violator’s service period in the Indonesian National Police,” said Senior Commissioner Heri Setiawan, who presided over the Code of Ethics Committee session on Rohmat’s conduct.
Heri described Rohmat’s actions as “despicable”, news outlet Tempo reported.
There are no details of what rank Rohmat has been demoted to.
Five other Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers were seated at the back of the vehicle at the time, and are also facing ethics trials.
They are Police 2nd Sub-Inspector M Rohyani, Police 1st Brigadier Danang, Police 1st Brigadier Mardin, Senior Patrolman Jana Edi and Senior Patrolman Yohanes David.
Besides ethical sanctions, Kompolnas has recommended criminal charges for the seven officers involved in Affan’s death.
Affan, 21, was doing a delivery in Pejompongan in central Jakarta amid mass protests when the Brimob tactical vehicle ran him over.
His death sparked widespread outrage against police brutality and escalated protests that began on Aug 25 against increased allowances for Indonesia’s Members of Parliament.
Demonstrations took place across Indonesia and some have resulted in clashes with the police.
Ten people have died, including another delivery rider in Makassar, according to the National Commission on Human Rights.
In the wake of the protests, Indonesia’s parliament has scrapped the 50 million rupiah (US$3,075) monthly housing allowance for lawmakers.
The sum, which is nearly 10 times the minimum wage in Jakarta, was widely slammed as being out of touch with the economic hardship faced by ordinary Indonesians.
Parliament has also decided against raising members’ salaries and imposed a ban on non-essential overseas trips, House Speaker Puan Maharani said on Thursday.
In recent days, student groups, social media influencers and online activists have met lawmakers to voice the short- and longer-term reforms they would like to see.
The “17+8 people’s demands” include greater budget transparency, the release of all detained protesters and emergency measures to prevent mass layoffs and protect contract workers.
