Police Arrest 8 Free Fighting Participants Like UFC In Makassar

PHOTO VIA BETWEEN

MAKASSAR - Makassar Police, South Sulawesi, arrested eight suspected perpetrators related to illegal street fighting activities using bare hands without any security equipment which went viral on social media.

"Alhamdulillah, we have arrested eight people suspected of being fighters or fighters, along with spectators in several places," said Head of Criminal Investigation Unit of Makassar Polrestabes Kompol Jamal Fathur Rakhman, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, August 4.

The arrests of the suspects, said Jamal, were supported by the South Sulawesi Police Resmob unit and assisted by the Ujungpandang Police until they were able to successfully uncover this case.

The eight suspected perpetrators who were arrested by the police, with the initials RA (19) and MA (19) as fighters, while the viewers, respectively, EI, AB, TS, MRA, MAF and MA, were known to be teenagers.

"Regarding this incident, we Makassar Police apply article 184 of the Criminal Code related to fights and article 56 for participating. The threat of punishment is approximately one year," said Jamal.

Although only the fighters and free-fight spectators were arrested, Jamal said, his party will continue to develop and explore this case to find the actors behind the illegal activities, including arresting the admin of the street fight social media account as a place to register spectators and prospective fighters.

"Until now the team is still developing this incident. The team is currently searching for other people, the committee, and the account admin who held the activity," he said.

Meanwhile, for the free fight mode, starting with the spread of information on the opening of registration and the time of the fight via the @makassarstreet_fight Instagram account posted by the admin, it will be held at one of the places in Makassar.

That's where the audience and fighters get tickets after contacting the admin via social media messages. To get an entrance ticket, the audience is charged Rp. 10 thousand and the fighter is Rp. 15 thousand to Rp. 20 thousand per person.

Tickets are received in front of the Mandala Monument, Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, then participants enter the location of the fight, Jalan Ince Nurdin behind the Mandala Monument.

"There was also received from this fighter, promised 10 percent of ticket sales or around Rp. 1.5 million if they win. All these suspects will be tested urine to determine whether they abuse drugs or not," he asserted.

When asked whether the Anarko group was involved in the incident, which often caused public unrest, Jamal stated that it was still being investigated, even though in the video footage there was an Anarko logo on the jacket worn by the referee during the fight.

One of the alleged perpetrators, with the initials R as a fighter, admitted that he had only recently participated in a free fight event. He said that he did not know anything about the registration because it was registered by a friend. He only knew that he was ready to fight with his opponent in the arena on Monday, August 2 last morning.

"I've only participated once. The rules are free, but we don't use sharp weapons. If our opponent surrenders, we win. I really like fighting, my parents didn't know this was the case. This wound on my face was from the fight that night," he said.