Not Kiai Jombang's Son Suspected Of Obscenity Of Santriwati, Police Secure Sympathizers Perpetrators

Screenshot of the arrest of MSAT sympathizers in Jombang/Special

SURABAYA - The Head of Public Relations of the East Java Regional Police, Commissioner Dirmanto, clarified the video circulating related to MSAT, a suspect in the obscenity of female students in Jombang Regency. Police said the man in the black T-shirt that officers ripped off was a sympathizer of the MSAT suspect.

"Until now, the suspect of molesting santriwati (female student) has not been arrested, now it is still in the process of (arresting MSAT suspects)", Dirmanto said on Thursday, July 7.

Dirmanto explained that the video depicting the arrest of a man wearing a songkok and a black T-shirt that was widely circulated was not an MSAT.

He was an MSAT sympathizer with the initials DD who was driving an Isuzu Panther while obstructing the arrest of the MSAT on Sunday, July 3.

"He was the driver who the other day grabbed officers when he was about to arrest the MSAT", he said.

Inside the pesantren area, continued Dirmanto, officials carried out a sweep of the rooms of each building to find the whereabouts of the MSAT.

The search is a bit difficult because the area of the pesantren is quite large, which is about five hectares, and there are many buildings.

"The sweep is still ongoing", he said.

The MSAT was reported to the Jombang Police Department for alleged obscenity in October 2019. The whistleblower is a woman from Central Java. The MSAT was later named a suspect in December 2019. However, the case that attracted public attention was not over.

The East Java Regional Police finally took over the case and the MSAT was named as a suspect in 2020.

Not accepting, the MSAT filed a pretrial application with the Surabaya District Court for the determination of the suspect but was rejected by the judge. The case continued to roll and the investigator submitted the first phase of the file to the East Java High Prosecutor's Office and it was declared complete or P21.

In January 2022, the MSAT was summoned by the East Java Regional Police to undergo the second phase of the handover process from the East Java Regional Police investigator to the East Java Prosecutor's Office. However, he was absent. The East Java Regional Police eventually put himself on the search list for persons (DPOs) or fugitives.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, July 3, a team from the East Java Regional Police and Jombang Police tried to arrest the MSA in Ploso District. However, the MSAT managed to escape. Only two people with him were successfully secured.

Later that night, police negotiated with a Kiai who was the MSA's father, but the suspect also failed to be forcibly picked up.