0 More witnesses questioned, minister’s son still in hospital

The police say they have interviewed four additional witnesses in the case of the fatal car crash involving the son of Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa. Muhammad Rasyid Amrullah Rajasa, 22, is a suspect for reckless driving in an collision that killed two people on Jagorawi toll road near South Jakarta early in the morning of New Year’s Day. The additional witnesses who were questioned on Thursday were two workers of state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga and two traffic police officers, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said on Friday. 

The interviews bring the total number of people questioned in the case to 17. “We are moving on with the case. We are now waiting for the suspect to be discharged from hospital for his questioning,” he said. Rasyid was driving his BMW X5 at 120 kilometers per hour when he rear-ended a Daihatsu Luxio on the Jagorawi toll road at 5:45 a.m on Tuesday. Two passengers in the Luxio, 57-year-old Harun and 14-month-old M. Raihan, died in the accident. Three others, including Raihan’s parents, suffered minor injuries. 

Police said the accident occurred because Rasyid, who did not test positive for alcohol or drugs, was drowsy after staying up all night to celebrate the New Year in Kemang, South Jakarta, with his girlfriend, Prillia Kinanti, 22. Rasyid was apparently on his way home to Fatmawati from Prillia’s house in Tebet, both in South Jakarta, when the accident occurred. Rikwanto said that Rasyid, who is currently under treatment at Pertmaina Hospital in South Jakarta for “shock”, faces five years’ imprisonment if convicted of reckless driving resulting in death or injury. 

Rikwanto said that investigators have invited Rangga Iqra Nugraha, a man who claimed on Twitter and on television to be on the scene when the accident occurred, to provide them with “complementary information”. He said that the information obtained from the witnesses was already incongruent, but added that a statement from Rangga might make a considerable difference. “Rangga should come to Jakarta Police’s Traffic Sub-directorate offices in Pancoran [South Jakarta] rather than making statements publicly in Twitter and in the media. 

We have contacted him and he said he would come if the time did not conflict with his schedule,” Rikwanto said. Rangga tweeted through his account @Rga_Nugraha on Jan. 2, that he was driving at 140 kilometers per hour behind Rasyid’s car, keeping a 100-meter distance, when the accident occurred. He tweeted that he and Rasyid directly helped the victims and was told by police there that he could resume his trip and was not asked to give statements formally on the case, so that he decided to write things down on Twitter. 

He also tweeted that he did not see the Luxio on the scene, though later added that was maybe because the van stopped 50 meters away from the collision. Some replies to his tweets accused him of only posing as witness in favor of the minister’s son. He replied by saying that he did not know Rasyid personally and only “admires Rasyid’s alacrity in helping the victims”. Meanwhile, Police have also detained Andika Pradita, 23, another reckless driving suspect, after he was discharged from Dr. Sukanto National Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, where he was treated for shock. 

He was previously treated in Fatmawati Hospital in South Jakarta before being admitted to the police hospital on Tuesday to facilitate investigation. “We will do a reconstruction of the collision on Sunday,” Rikwanto said. Andika was driving without headlights when he plowed into several vehicles on Jl. Ampera, South Jakarta, at 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 27, leaving two dead and injuring five. Rikwanto said that Andika may face five years imprisonment 12 witnesses have been questioned in the case. Among the witnesses is Hwanceol, 28, a Korean who was with Andika in the car when the accident happened. Police say they might revoke Andika’s driving license for both the fatal collision and for attempting to flee the scene after the crash. (aml)

source : the jakarta post