Romance Motive, Police Arrest Perpetrator Of Stabbing At Gaplok Market, Central Jakarta

The police arrested a man with the initials H (35) who allegedly stabbed R (24) at Gaplok Market, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday, November 19, 2025. The bloody incident was said to have been triggered by a love affair.

Central Jakarta Metro Police Chief, Kombes Pol Susatyo Purnomo Condro, explained that the stabbing incident occurred in the morning. The perpetrator, who saw the victim coming out of the bathroom of Pasar Gaplok, immediately attacked him with a machete.

"H attacked the victim with a machete in the left chest after seeing R coming out of the bathroom of Pasar Gaplok," he said in a statement, Saturday, November 22, 2025.

The seriously injured victim was immediately rushed to the RSCM for medical assistance, while the perpetrator immediately fled.

Senen Police Chief, AKP Andre Tri Putra, added that after conducting an investigation for three days, Senen Police together with the Central Jakarta Metro Police managed to arrest H on Saturday, November 22, 2025, at 05.30 WIB, while hiding in Wanasari Village, East Cilebut, Sukaraja, Bogor.

"As soon as we got the information on the whereabouts of the perpetrators, the team immediately moved. The perpetrator was arrested without a fight and admitted his actions," he said.

The police said the perpetrator was desperate to take action because of a love affair. "The motive is romance," he said briefly.

From the perpetrator's rented house, the police confiscated a number of evidences in the form of a 40 cm long machete along with a brown wooden sarong, a red black shirt, and brown trousers used at the time of the incident.

To account for his actions, the perpetrator was charged with Article 351 of the Criminal Code concerning Persecution, with a maximum penalty of 2 years and 8 months in prison.