Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – An angry group of Indonesian Military (TNI) members allegedly tortured and killed a debt collector in Depok, West Java, on Monday.
Helmy Yohanes Manuputty, 34, died from his wounds at Indonesian Christian University (UKI) Hospital in Cawang, East Jakarta, on Monday evening.
The death of Helmy, a debt collector who worked for leasing company PT Sinar Mitra Sepadan (SMS), came less than a month after politician Irzen Octa died while meeting Citibank debt collectors in Jakarta.
According to allegations made by family and friends, Helmy was taken away from PT SMS's offices by several TNI members.
Helmy was assigned by PT SMS to collect payments on a car loan held by a TNI member who failed to make payments for the last two months. An eyewitness, identified as A.T., alleged that the debtor, accompanied by about 100 TNI members in civilian clothes, mobbed the company's office in Margonda, brandishing machetes and firearms, and attacking Helmy and his colleagues.
Helmy and three colleagues, A.T., Aldo and Videl, were allegedly taken away by the group. A.T. said he escaped while the others remained with their captors. Helmy was allegedly tortured in Cilodong and was released in Cililitan, South Jakarta.
Cilodong – in Bogor, West Java – is headquarters to Division I of the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad), one of the TNI's most powerful units.
Helmy returned home by motorcycle taxi before going to the hospital. Helmy's mother, Ena, said her son's body was covered with cuts and bruises.
"When I bathed him he told me that his hands and feet had been tied. He was beaten while he was blindfolded. He had bruises on his body. His arms were struck by a steel object. He lost half of his left ear because it had been cut. There were also cuts on his legs that were likely from machetes," Ena said.
Abdul Fatah Pasolo, the lawyer for Helmy's family, said on Tuesday that the family would file a complaint with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).
"We found that violence was committed by members of the Indonesian Military and we want the commission to find the motive behind the attack," Pasolo told reporters.
Depok Police chief Sr. Comr. Ferry Abraham said no complaint had been made to the police by Helmy's family although he confirmed he received a report that a debt collector had died after allegedly being tortured by a client.
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharudin Djafar said that police were investigating a complaint against PT SMS filed by a TNI member on Monday before the attack.
"The Depok Police have so far only received a complaint of misconduct involving TNI members. This is what we are investigating," Baharudin said on Tuesday.
TNI chief Adm. Agus Suhartono said he would look into the allegations. "I haven't received any report about it," he told reporters on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting in the Bogor Palace.
A spokesman for Kostrad said none of its members were involved in the attack. "We have checked and found that none of our members were involved. We hope that this will clear up all the confusion," Capt. Agus said as quoted by detik.com newsportal.