A rape suspect, 30-year-old Salamah, died in the Central Mamuju Police Office, West Sulawesi Province, on 24 February 2022. The bruises on Salamah’s body indicated that he had been tortured. This allegation of torture was reinforced by the post-mortem results, which stated that Salamah had been subjected to violence. The police stated that the perpetrators of violence are the detainees, not police officers. The police could have opened CCTV since the examination process until the police put the victim into a detention cell, but the police did not do it.
Salamah’s family was shocked when they heard that Salamah had died. They went to the Central Mamuju Police Headquarters, West Sulawesi, to ask about Salamah’s death on 28 February 2022. The victim’s family also asked about the security mechanism for the suspect because the suspect has the right to be safe in detention. Before being arrested, Salamah’s parents had asked the police not to mistreat their daughter at the police station. The police explained to the family who came to the police station about the chronology of the arrest until the victim was detained. The victim was taken to the Central Mamuju Regional General Hospital by the police but eventually died. The Head of Public Relations of West Sulawesi Police explained that the persecution and beating incident occurred at around 02.00 am. The police only found out about it at around 03.00 am. At approximately 03.40 am, Salamah was finally declared dead at the Central Mamuju Satellite Hospital.
The legal process of the case is being handled by West Sulawesi Police Propam and Central Mamuju Police Satreskrim investigators. Propam investigators have gone to the Central Mamuju Police Station to investigate the persecution committed by fellow detainees. Central Mamuju Police Chief AKBP Amri on 26 February said that eight detainees are still being examined, and Propam is still investigating two picket officers. The police have examined 15 witnesses after the victim’s death on 28 February 2022. In the case title, investigators named 12 detainees as suspects who were allegedly involved in the persecution of the victim1. However, there is no more information about the progress of this case investigation.
Detailed Case Data
name of the location: Polda Sulawesi Barat (-2.676360574953572, 118.91802393539275)
administrative region: Indonesia, West Sulawesi Province, Mamuju Regency, Mamuju District
total number of victims: one
period of incident: 24.02.2022
perpetrator: police
perpetrator details: unknown
Issues: torture, extra-judicial killings
Sources: https://www.bentengsumbar.com/2022/03/baru-beberapa-jam-masuk-sel-pemerkosa.html, https://regional.kompas.com/read/2022/02/28/124301078/tersangka-pemerkosa-anak-tewas-di-tahanan-keluarga-datangi-markas-polres, https://sulbar.tribunnews.com/2022/02/25/ada-luka-lebam-tahanan-pemerkosaan-meninggal-di-polres-mamuju-tengah-diduga-karena-dianiaya. Further HRM News:
| Number | Name, Details | Gender | Age | Group Affiliation | Violations |
| 1 | Salamah, detainee | male | 30 | unknown | execution, torture |
