Carnival In Malang Eats 1 Casualty And 6 Injured, Police Confirm Committee Has Not Pocketed Road Closure Permits

Malang Police Traffic Head AKP Agnis Juwita (left) when giving a statement to the media at the Malang Police Headquarters, East Java, Tuesday (26/9/2023). ANTARA/Vicki Febrianto.

Malang Police Traffic Unit stated that the carnival in Kedungrejo Village, Pakis District, Malang Regency, which caused one person to die had not yet obtained a road closure permit. Malang Police Traffic Head AKP Agnis Juwita said the implementation of the carnival, which was colored by traffic accidents, only made notifications about a number of activities in the series of commemoration of national holidays. "To go to the Traffic Unit, no committee has asked for or asked for recommendations (related to road closures) during carnival celebrations," said Agnis in Malang Regency, East Java, as reported by Antara, Tuesday, September 26. Agnis explained that with the absence of a notification from the organizing committee to the Malang Police Traffic Unit, his party did not provide recommendations to the carnival organizers in the series of commemorations of the national holidays. According to him, the activity plan is only limited to notification of a series of activities to commemorate national holidays carried out by the village government to the local police station. The road closure was carried out starting from Jalan Raya Banjarejo to Jalan Raya Kedungrejo, Pakis District. "The information we received was that there was a complete notification of the activities that the village would carry out in commemoration of national holidays. However, (for road closures) there was no permit from the Traffic Unit," he said. With the absence of a road closure permit which then resulted in an accident that claimed lives, the Malang Police also conducted an examination of the Head of Kedungrejo Village and the organizing committee. One of the things that caught the attention of the Malang Police Investigation and Criminal Unit (Satreskrim) to conduct an examination of a number of these parties was related to the permit to close roads and use large-capacity loudspeakers or sound systems. The carnival uses a large driver, must have a permit from the Malang Police, in accordance with the Malang Regency Government Circular regarding the Implementation of Carnival / Check Sound and Crowd Entertainment. The accident at the time of the carnival which resulted in the death of one person also caused six other people to be injured. Of the six people who were injured, two of them were toddlers. The incident began when an open pickup truck driven by U (63), a resident of Kedungrejo Village, Pakis District, passed a downhill road while participating in the carnival parade, on Sunday (24/9) night. At the scene of the incident, the vehicle lost control and then hit seven people who were walking. Thus, the incident occurred on the back of the participants who were walking.

The driver with the initials U, 63 years old, has been named a suspect and charged under Article 310 of Law Number 22 of 2009 concerning Road Traffic and Transportation, with a maximum prison sentence of five years.