Depression due to economic pressure is thought to be the trigger. A breakthrough is needed to prevent this heartbreaking incident from happening again.
The lips of Eha Sutiha, Head of the Cisontrol Village Government Section, Rancah District, Ciamis, trembled. He caught his breath several times when telling about the mutilation case in his village on Friday (3/5/2024) morning. Until noon, he had not had time to eat because he was taking care of the case.
“At 07.45 WIB, the village head reported. He said, there was a murder case. “Village officials went straight there,” he said.
Also read: Mutilations in Malang City Triggered by Witchcraft Practices
After checking in Sindanglaya Village, the perpetrator was Tarsum bin Daspin or TBD (51), a local resident. The victim was his wife, Y (42).
The incident shocked residents. Before the incident, the victim was preparing to attend recitation at the mosque. The victim said goodbye to her husband and children.
However, while walking in the alley near the house, the perpetrator suddenly killed the victim. TBD even mutilated the victim using a knife.
COMPASS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI
Portrait of the Cisontrol Village Office, Rancah District, Ciamis Regency, West Java, Friday (3/5/2024). In that village there was a case of mutilation which was allegedly carried out by a husband against his wife.
Ironically, the perpetrator, who was a goat seller, allegedly offered pieces of his wife’s body to his neighbors.
A video of the perpetrator carrying objects suspected to be body parts and covered in blood spread on social media. The residents who recorded it were also hysterical.
“Indeed, the perpetrator carried something with him. “But, I don’t know exactly what it is,” said Eha.
Residents were worried about approaching the perpetrator, who was still holding a knife and looked unstable. In fact, said Eha, the Cisontrol Village Head’s hand was injured because he was slashed by the perpetrator’s knife.
The perpetrator was finally arrested by village officials, police, TNI and residents. In fact, as in the video spread on social media, the perpetrator was carried with his hands and feet tied.
The police then took the victim to the Rancah Sector Police. In the cell, the handcuffed perpetrator often holds his head.
Depression
The incident shocked the village residents. So far, the victim and the perpetrator have never been heard arguing.
TBD, who is a resident who moved from a neighboring village, also usually interacts with residents. The perpetrator never caused problems in the environment.
However, said Eha, the perpetrator was undergoing outpatient treatment. TBD is thought to have experienced depression in recent years.
“His business selling goats went bankrupt. I don’t know how long I’ve been depressed. “This is the first time he has acted,” he said.
Also read: Mutilation of Malang’s Big Market and Lessons Learned
According to Eha, this is the first time there has been a case of mutilation in his village. This tragic incident became a topic of conversation among residents of the sub-district and throughout Ciamis.
“Terrifying. I saw it in the video, I was scared. How come you can do that? “But, indeed, economic conditions are like this,” said Teti Nurhayati, a resident of Rancah.
Ciamis Resort Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Akmal said the perpetrator resisted when he was about to be arrested. Now, the perpetrator has been transferred to Ciamis Police custody. Meanwhile, the victim’s body parts were taken to Ciamis Regional Hospital for autopsy purposes.
“We are still investigating the motive. “We will also examine the perpetrator’s mental condition,” said Akmal. The police have summoned expert witnesses to check the perpetrator’s mental health.
Head of the Ciamis Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Adjunct Commissioner Joko Prihatin, said that his party had carried out a crime scene investigation at the perpetrator’s house. A police cordon has also been installed at the location. This activity took place from 09.00 to 12.00 WIB.
The police have also examined five witnesses from the victim’s relatives and neighbors. From the examination, it was discovered that the perpetrator underwent a mental condition examination by officers at the local health center three days ago. The perpetrator had received a sedative.
“The perpetrator’s actions can be subject to two articles of the Criminal Code, Article 338 concerning murder and Article 340 concerning premeditated murder,” said Joko. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Repetitive
COMPASS/DEFRI WERDIONO
A police line stretches across the fence at the location of the murder accompanied by mutilation by the husband of the wife in Bunulrejo Village, Blimbing District, Malang City, East Java, Sunday (31/12/2023)
The mutilation case in Ciamis adds to the long list of wife mutilations in this country. At the end of 2023, a man in Bunulrejo Village, Blimbing District, Malang City, East Java, surrendered himself to the police after mutilating his wife. The trigger is thought to be a family problem.
Ten years earlier, in 2013, Silvester Bria (48), a farmer in Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, killed and mutilated his wife, Rosalina Bete (45), and her child, Emelia Putri alias Esrah (2.5). At the time of the incident, the wife, a private elementary school teacher, was three months pregnant.
The perpetrator surrendered himself to the police after carrying out his heinous act. From the police investigation, it is suspected that the perpetrator killed the victim because he felt offended in front of his wife’s extended family (Kompas, 10/3/2013).
A number of studies show that there are many motives for mutilation. Generally, mutilation is carried out to eliminate traces of the perpetrator because it is difficult for the police to identify the victim’s body.
The cuts on the genitalia usually have a love motif. The head cutting was motivated by revenge.
This view is stated in an article written by Ahmad Albar and his friends entitled “Judicial Analysis of the Crime of Murder Accompanied by Mutilation in a Criminological Perspective”. The article also mentions the issue of the mental disorders of the perpetrators of the mutilation.
KOMPAS/EMILIUS CAESAR ALEXEY
The defendant in the case of sexual violence and mutilation, Baekuni alias Babeh, bowed his head while listening to the reading of the verdict at the East Jakarta District Court, Wednesday (6/10/2010). The panel of judges found Babeh guilty of premeditated murder and sexual violence against his four victims and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
In a number of mutilation cases, women are often also victims. This is a form of femicide, the killing of women based on hatred, revenge or conquest. The 2020 National Commission on Violence Against Women report noted this.
It is stated that femicide is not ordinary murder because it contains gender inequality, domination, aggression and oppression. The report also revealed the fact that hundreds of cases of femicide were committed by people closest to the victim, such as husbands, friends, close relatives and boyfriends. Gender inequality is the root of the problem (Kompas, 11/12/2021).
Violence against women
COMPASS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI
A number of students show their palms as a form of campaign to stop violence against children on the sidelines of the West Java National Children’s Day commemoration in Kuningan Regency, Thursday (28/7/2022). The West Java Provincial Government launched the Dare to Prevent Acts of Violence or Jabar Cekas movement to anticipate cases of violence against children.
In West Java, Y’s death adds to the long list of women victims of violence. Cases of violence occur thousands of times every year.
Data from the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection shows that the number of cases of violence against women in West Java throughout 2023 reached 1,128 cases with 1,151 victims. Bandung city has the highest number of cases, 234 cases.
In 2024, from January to April, there will be 220 cases of violence against women with the number of victims reaching 224 people. The highest cases in the last four months were in Bekasi Regency with 36 cases.
COMPASS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI
Portrait of a palm print as a sign of solidarity to stop violence against children in commemoration of National Children’s Day at the West Java level in Kuningan Regency, Thursday (28/7/2022). Violence, bullying and harassment still haunt children in West Java.
Head of the Regional Technical Implementation Unit for the Protection of Women and Children (UPTD PPA) West Java, Anjar Yusdinar, explained that the majority of victims experienced psychological and physical violence. In fact, there are victims who experience several forms of violence simultaneously.
“We have prepared a safe house for victims who experience violence. “At that place, we will always accompany the victim and provide doctor and psychologist services free of charge,” said Anjar.
Reflecting on the mutilation case in Ciamis, law enforcement or assistance after the incident is often not enough to overcome sadistic acts. Breakthroughs and mitigation are needed to get to the root of the problem.
The problem of gender inequality and solving economic hardship must be taken into consideration to minimize the cruel incidents that continue to recur.
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