An environmental activist has been stabbed to death by a group of unknown assailants in South Jakarta early Saturday morning.
Jopi Peranginangin, an activist with the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago [AMAN], died on Saturday at 6 a.m. at Pertamina Hospital in Jakarta due to a bleeding in his lungs, just a few hours after a group of unidentified attackers knifed him in the back as he left a café in Kemang, South Jakarta.
“We have received the report and we are now investigating the case,” said Sr. Comr. Wahyu Hadiningrat, chief of South Jakarta Resort Police, on Saturday as quoted by news portal Tribunnews.com.
According to Muhammad Iqbal, spokesman of the Jakarta Police, Jopi had been trying to break a chaotic fight which took place at the cafe’s parking lot.
“The victim was beaten up and one of the suspects stabbed him until he fell on the ground,” said Iqbal as quoted by Detik.com.
Iqbal said the police suspected four to seven people involved in the incident, but are yet to identify the identities and the initial cause of the fight.
At least four witnesses are currently being questioned by the police, including two of the cafe’s security guards, CNNIndonesia reported.
Jopi’s body is scheduled to go under post-mortem examination at the National Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, according to Tempo.co.
Born in 1976 in Kisaran, North Sumatra, Jopi was known for his intense criticism of palm oil companies which violate their working permits and concession areas approved by the Indonesian government.
