Malang Police Name 4 Suspects for Destroying Tourist Vehicles at Wedi Awu Beach

MALANG - The Malang Police have named four people as suspects in the destruction of vehicles and beatings of a group of tourists from Surabaya at Wedi Awu Beach, Tirtoyudo District, Malang Regency, East Java.

"Three suspects, namely A, Z, and Y, have been arrested and detained. Meanwhile, another one with the initials M will be named a suspect today, all from Malang Raya," said Malang Police Chief AKBP Muhammad Taat Resdi as reported by ANTARA, Friday, May 8.

In the incident, six four-wheel vehicles were reported damaged and six of 72 tourists were injured.

He said that one of the six cars that was targeted for destruction by the suspects was not actually part of the tourist group's vehicle.

"It so happens that the car belongs to the community and is at the location (when the incident took place) so that the handling of this case is based on two police reports," he said.

Based on the results of the investigation of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Malang Police, in the incident that occurred on Tuesday (5/5) around 03.00 WIB, the suspects A, Z, and Y were proven to have openly carried out acts of vandalism and rioting against tourists together.

The destruction by the suspects, such as throwing stones and scribbling on four-wheeled vehicles that were parked at the lodging area on Wedi Awu Beach.

"He (M) instigated, invited a group of people to the location of the incident," he said.

The police arrested the suspects A, Z, and Y under Article 262 of Law Number 1 of 2023 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) concerning Pengeroyokan and Article 521 of Law Number 1 of 2023 of the Criminal Code concerning vandalism.

Then, suspect M was charged with Article 246 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning Penghasutan.

The Malang Police explained that the initial suspicion of the incident in the Wedi Awu Beach area was triggered by several tourists who sang a song with lyrics containing a narrative that offended certain groups of members of the community.

Currently, the local police are still conducting further investigations, including to find out the total number of valid mass actions involved in the criminal act.

"The number is around 100 but this is still an estimate by identifying 12 CCTV points. Then, the number of witnesses who have been examined is 20 people," he said.