Suspect in the Murder of the Head of the Village in Purbalingga Admits to Being Heartbroken and Often Being Scolding

Purbalingga Police Chief AKBP Anita Indah Setyaningrum / ANTARA / Sumarwoto

Purbalingga - The Purbalingga Police (Polres) have named a man with the initials SWE (50) as a suspect in the murder of a village head (kadus) in Sangkanayu Village, Purbalingga Regency, Central Java.

"We suspect that the suspect has committed the crime of murder as referred to in Article 458 Paragraph (1) or sub-article 466 Paragraph (3) of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code with a maximum penalty of 15 years," said Purbalingga Police Chief AKBP Anita Indah Setyaningrum as reported by ANTARA, Friday, June 12.

He said the victim was named Sungkowo (57), a village official who served as the head of the hamlet in Sangkanayu Village, Mrebet District, while the suspect SWE was a local village resident and a neighbor of the victim.

The murder occurred on Thursday (11/6) at around 09.30 WIB in a garden owned by Khairul Asror which was rented and worked by the victim and the suspect.

Based on the results of the investigation, the suspect admitted that he had a grudge against the victim because he had often been reprimanded while in the construction site.

"The perpetrator felt hurt because there was often a quarrel with the victim. The perpetrator admitted that he was often scolded by the victim when he was in the garden they were working on," he said.

On the day of the incident, the suspect came to the garden to look for wood, grass, and cassava.

When meeting the victim, the suspect was again reprimanded for not taking wood or cassava at the location.

Because of the emotions that had accumulated, the suspect then took a stick and hit the victim's left temple twice until the victim fell to the ground.

After the victim fell, the suspect hit the back of the victim's head with a stick several times.

"The suspect then hit the back of the victim's head about 10 times with a stick," he said.

Not stopping there, he said, the suspect also took an arit or saber and attacked the victim again with two blows to the head.

The victim was evacuated to the hospital while still alive. However, after undergoing a medical examination, the victim was declared dead due to the injuries he suffered.

The Police Chief said the results of the doctor's examination showed two open wounds on the victim's head, each about 8 centimeters and 5 centimeters in length with a depth of about 0.5 centimeters.

In addition, a hematoma was found on the back of the neck, indicating the possibility of a fracture or fracture.

"The cause of death of the victim is suspected to be due to open wounds caused by blows with a wooden stick and a saber," he said.

After carrying out the action, he said, the suspect went home and cleaned the sickle that was covered in blood before storing it again.

When the officers approached the suspect's house, the suspect was reluctant to come out so the police negotiated.

With the help of the community, the suspect was finally willing to come out and then was secured to undergo an examination.

Until now, investigators have not found any indication that the suspect has a mental disorder as information that had circulated in the community.

"From the results of the examination, the suspect was able to explain the events and actions he had committed, so that there is currently no indication of a mental disorder," he said.

According to him, the fatal conflict was triggered by a problem that had been going on for quite some time, namely the victim's reprimand to the suspect regarding the collection of wood and cassava in the land they worked together.

"It is suspected that due to the accumulated irritation caused by being often scolded by the victim, the suspect then committed the act," said AKBP Anita.