Household Assistant In Samarinda Killed By Tiger, Police Name Employer As Suspect

Illustration of the Sumatran Tiger (Phantera Tigris Sumatra) when it was evacuated (ANTARA)

After successfully evacuating a tiger that preyed on a domestic helper, the police have now officially named A, the owner of the wild animal as a suspect in the case of illegal tiger ownership.

In addition, the police also charged the suspect with the alleged element of negligence that resulted in the death of another person.

This case is still being developed by the police, including revealing the origin of the suspect being able to obtain the tiger which is a rare and protected animal.

Head of Criminal Investigation Unit of the Samarinda Police, Kompol Rengga Puspo Saputro, said that currently the legal process in the case of tigers preying on humans on Jalan Wahid Hasyim 2, Sempaja Village, North Samarinda District, has gone up to the investigation level.

"The legal process has been underway and we have processed the investigation and we have named suspect A as the owner of the tiger," Rengga told a number of media crews at the location of the tiger cage in Samarinda City, Sunday, November 19.

A was named a suspect after the police examined five witnesses. "Yes, we have examined about three to five witnesses," he explained again.

From the results of the preliminary examination, it was found that suspect A had kept the Sumatran tiger since the animal was still small. With this, it is strongly suspected that suspect A had illegally owned the tiger for the last three years.

"Yes, it has been since childhood according to the age of the tiger, around two to three years," he continued.

The police charged suspect A with Article 359 of the Criminal Code regarding negligence that caused another person to die, as well as Law Number 59 of 1990 concerning possession of endangered and illegally protected animals with a threat of imprisonment of more than 7 years in prison.