One Additional Death Found in Langkat's Human Cage Case

JAKARTADAILY.ID - Police investigators are continuing their investigation into the human cage case belonging to the inactive Langkat Regent, Terbit Rencana Perangin Angin.

The North Sumatran Police have found yet another casualty said to be an occupant of the human cage.

The Head of Public Relations of the North Sumatra Police, Grand Commissioner Hadi Wahyudi, said that the victim started to be the occupant of the human cage in February 2018.

However, less than a month in the cage, the victim was reported to have died.

"One more victim. Namely, the occupants of the cage in February 2018," said Hadi on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, as quoted by PMJ News.

Furthermore, he revealed that the victim died allegedly due to being tortured, like other victims.

The police are currently preparing to exhume the tomb for an autopsy to determine their cause of death.

"We will conduct the exhumation as soon as possible. This finding is the result of an investigation and adjustment to the data from the Regional Police, the Witness and Victim Protection Agency and the National Commission on Human Rights," he said.

As previously reported, three people were found dead due to the alleged torture that took place in the human cages belonging to Terbit Rencana Perangin Angin.

So far, the North Sumatran Police have named nine suspects in the slavery case, including the former regent himself.

Grand Commissioner Police Hadi Wahyudi said that the nine suspects have the initials HS, IS, TS, RG, JS, DP, and HG, as well as SP and TS.

Of the nine suspects, seven of them, namely HS, IS, TS, RG, JS, DP, and HG, are suspected of being involved in the alleged abuse that caused the victim to die in the human cage. Two of the remaining suspects, namely SP and PS, were the caretaker of the cage, which had been around for ten years.

The suspects have also been detained by investigators from the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the North Sumatra Police after previously not being detained and only being required to report.

The suspects have been detained at the North Sumatra Police Detention Center since Thursday, April 7, 2022, and will remain there for the next 20 days after their initial confinement.