Arientha Primanita – A director of a state-owned company died in a hospital on Sunday after being gunned down the previous day in a well-executed, mafia-style hit in Tangerang, Banten Province.
The dead man, Nasrudin Zulkarnaen, 41, president director of PT Putra Rajawali Banjaran, or PRB, had appeared as a witness during an ongoing court case involving Ranendra Dangin, the former finance director of state-owned PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia, or RNI, which is the holding company of PRB. Ranendra has been detained by the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, for corruption allegedly involving Rp 4.5 billion ($376,000).
KPK Deputy Chairman Haryono Umar told the Jakarta Globe he could not comment on the possibility that Nasrudin was executed because of his status, saying it was still too early to reach any conclusions, other than that it was the first recorded slaying of a KPK witness.
He said that Nasrudin had answered a summons to appear as a witness, but that he had not requested to be placed under the witness protection program.
Tangerang Police chief Sr. Cmr. Hamidin on Sunday confirmed that Nasrudin had been shot in the head through the window of his BMW vehicle by two men riding a Yamaha Scorpio motorcycle on Saturday afternoon. The father of two died in Gatot Subroto Hospital in Jakarta on Sunday afternoon.
Hamidin said the victim had played two holes of golf at the upscale Padang Golf Modernland (Modernland Golf Course) in Tangerang on Saturday afternoon, when he received a phone call. He then called his driver to tell him that he had to return to his office in Kuningan, South Jakarta, and told him where to meet him.
Just after he left the main gate, the men on the motorcycle, both wearing brown jackets and helmets, pulled alongside the BMW, Hamidin said. "The suspects pulled up to the left side of the car where Nasrudin sat on the left side in the back seat," Hamidin said. "One of the suspects fired two shots, which hit Nasrudin's left temple and his head." Hamidin said the gunmen then drove off toward Serang and escaped.
Budi Perbawa Aji, a spokesman for RNI, said Nasrudin was pronounced dead at 12:05 p.m. He is survived by his wife, Arinda, and two young children aged about 4 years old and 8 years old. "His body will be buried in Makassar, South Sulawesi, as it was his hometown," Budi said, without giving any more details.
RNI is a government-owned investment holding company primarily involved in agro business, the pharmaceutical industry and the supply of medical equipment.
Budi said that Nasrudin had been the director of PRB, a state-owned retail pharmacy company and micro-subsidiary of RNI, for six months. "He is known [for being] a nice person with a large number of friends," Budi said. "He used to associate with high-level officials."
Sources told the Jakarta Globe that Nasrudin was appointed president director of PRB for political reasons. He had not had a career at PRB prior to his appointment and did not have a pharmaceutical background. The same source first told the Globe that Nasrudin was a witness in the case against Ranendra Dangin.
The KPK detained Ranendra in January for alleged corruption involving the importation of sugar between 2001 to 2004. Both Budi and Hamidin refused to comment on the possibility that Nasrudin was murdered by hit men due to his status as a witness in the case.