Blocked And Lectured, East Java Regional Police Confirms Will Arrest Child Kiai Pesantren Jombang MSAT Suspect For Abusing Santriwati

Head of Public Relations of the East Java Police Kombes Dirmanto (center)/IST

SURABAYA - The East Java Regional Police (Jatim) has confirmed that the alleged molestation of the female students of the son of a well-known kiai in Jombang Regency, East Java, will continue. The police will not give up on arresting the fugitive with the initials MSAT, even though they always fail.

"Our follow-up, of course, will continue to make efforts to arrest MSAT who has carried out this obscene act," said Head of Public Relations of the East Java Police, Kombes Dirmanto, in Surabaya, Monday, July 4.

According to Dirmanto, several times the police tried to catch MSAT fugitives but failed. The reason was because the masses and sympathizers of the pesantren led by MSAT's father always prevented the officers.

Latest on Sunday, July 3rd. U=the police's efforts to arrest MSAT were fruitless. In fact, the police have chased the convoy of three cars carrying MSAT from Sambongdukuh Village, Jombang.

However, while being chased, the convoy of cars ridden by MSAT continued to drive towards Ploso, the destination of his father's boarding school. In fact, one of the cars of the MSAT group fought back by squeezing the officers who were pursuing them. "As a result of that incident, one of our members (police) fell," he said.

But in pursuit of the car that was ridden by MSAT and one accompanying car managed to escape and enter the Shiddiqiyyah Islamic Boarding School. While one other car was caught by the joint team, where the car was driven by two people who are MSAT followers.

"The driver fled, we only saw two people in the car, and we managed to secure (arrest)," he said.

It didn't stop there, hundreds of fully armed personnel were then deployed to surround the Shiddiqiyyah Islamic Boarding School which was raised by MSAT's father. At that time, the police dispatched a team of negotiators to the boarding school, but access to the boarding school was also heavily guarded by the MSAT crowd.

Until midnight, the efforts of the negotiator team to enter the Islamic boarding school failed. However, Dirmanto emphasized that he would not stop at arresting MSAT, the suspect for molesting the female student. "While waiting for a conducive situation first," he said.

As previously reported, the kiai asked the Jombang Police Chief, AKBP Nurhidayat, to stop the alleged molestation of female students, which was widely circulated in WhatsApp groups. The kiai is the father of the suspect MSAT (DPO).

The video was widely circulated after the Jombang Police forcibly picked up the MSAT suspect at his residence, namely the Sidiqiyah Islamic Boarding School in Losari Village, Ploso District, Jombang Regency, East Java. The forced pick-up was carried out by the Jombang Police, on Sunday, July 3.

In the 1.55 second video, the kiai and the Jombang Police Chief are seen in an assembly. The kiai was sitting on a chair, while the police chief sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the kiai.

In the video, the kiai can be seen asking the Jombang Police Chief not to continue the legal case that befell his son (MSAT, ed). The reason is that the alleged molestation case by MSAT against a number of female students is slander.

"For our common safety, for the glory of Indonesia Raya, this slander issue is a family matter. For that, go back to your respective places, don't force yourself to take my child who has been slandered," said the kiai in the video.

Hearing the advice from the MSAT suspect's father, the Jombang Police Chief did not seem to respond. He just sat down and listened to the kiai.

"All of that is slander. Allahu Akbar, that's enough," said the kiai, accompanied by takbir by the congregation who attended the assembly.