Andrew Tito, Jakarta – Indonesian military police have detained an Army corporal accused of acting as a go-between in the abduction and killing of a state-owned bank branch manager, a case that has drawn national attention for its scale and planning.

Corporal FH was officially named a suspect on Friday by the Jakarta Military Command. He is accused of linking the field perpetrators with the masterminds behind the crime that led to the death of Mohamad Ilham Pradipta, 37, the head of a sub-branch of a state-owned bank.

"The suspect acted as an intermediary to find people who would forcibly take the victim," said Colonel Donny Agus Priyanto, commander of the Military Police of the Jakarta Military Command.

Donny said FH was not directly involved in the abduction or murder but played a facilitating role. At the time of the incident, FH was absent without leave and classified as a deserter.

Ilham was kidnapped from a supermarket parking lot in East Jakarta on Aug. 20. His body was found the following day in a rice field in Bekasi, West Java, bound with duct tape.

Police have so far named at least 15 suspects grouped into four clusters: the intellectual actors, the scouts, the kidnappers, and the executors who disposed of the body.

The masterminds were identified as Dwi Hartono, C alias Ken, YJ, and AA. Several other suspects, including those who surveilled the victim, have not been publicly named.

The Indonesian military has pledged firm action against any personnel involved in the crime. "Any soldier proven to have committed violations or crimes will be dealt with firmly according to applicable laws," said Brigadier General Freddy Ardianza, head of the TNI Information Center.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/army-corporal-charged-in-abduction-murder-of-state-bank-branch-hea