Police have identified Saepul (26) as the perpetrator of mutilation against a man with the initials K (51), whose body was found in a sack in an empty plot of land on 4 August. Saepul, who works selling chocolate bananas at Pondok Cina Station in Depok city, has been named a suspect and is being held at the Metro Jaya Regional Police detention facility.
According to Metro Jaya Regional Police Public Relations Head Kombes Budi Hermanto, before selling bananas, Saepul had worked in various professions. Police discovered old video footage showing Saepul participating in a talent search competition on a television station programme. In the video, Saepul took part in the competition to help ease the burden on his mother, who sells vegetables in the market.
Saepul also previously worked as a mathematics teacher at a junior secondary school in Pandeglang, Banten. After carrying out his act, he fled to Pandeglang, according to the suspect's confession to police. Kompol Dimitri Mahendara, chief of section 1 of the Mobile Unit subdivision at Metro Jaya Regional Police, stated that Saepul's TikTok account also displayed these activities.
From the investigation, police revealed that Saepul planned to steal the victim's belongings and commit murder. Kompol Dimitri Mahendra Kartika, chief of section 1 of the Mobile Unit subdivision of the Criminal Investigation directorate at Metro Jaya Regional Police, said that the perpetrator and victim became acquainted through the Hornet application, a social media application for the gay community. Examination of Saepul's mobile phone showed that he was a member of a gay community group.
Saepul is being charged under provisions related to premeditated murder and faces the threat of capital punishment.
