It's Been 8 Years, Vina Murderers Still Free?
Vina and her lover Eky were murdered in Cirebon in August 2016.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The murder and rape by a motorcycle gang against Vina Dewi Arsita occurred August 27, 2016. The 16-year-old girl from Cirebon, West Java was raped and killed along with her lover, Muhammad Rizky aka Eky.
In total, 11 perpetrators were involved in the tragic events that took place at three locations in Cirebon. However, only eight suspects were arrested, legally processed, until they were convicted.
The other three suspects are still at large today. The heartbreaking case resurfaced after the film titled Vina: Before 7 Days premiered in theaters. In its seventh day of screening, the film had been watched by three million people.
The public is also wondering why there are still three suspects who have not been caught. The Directorate of General Criminal Reserse (Ditreskrimum) of the Jabar Police revealed the tracking constraints against the three fugitives.
Dirkrimum Polda Jabar Kombes Pol Surawan said the disclosure of the three suspects went long because the eight perpetrators were uncooperative during the examination. They even revoked the information related to the three perpetrators who have not been arrested, namely Andi, Dani, and Pegi aka Perong.
“When the suspect underwent examination in Cirebon first, they cooperatively provided information, but when in the police, they retracted the information,” he said when contacted on Friday (17/5/2024).
Surawan said the eight perpetrators revoked information about Andi, Dani, and Pegi during the examination at Jabar Police and at the trial. It is still investigating why they retracted a caption naming the three men as perpetrators of murder.
Surawan mentioned the eight suspects who were asked for information at Cirebon police station in 2016, but only gave their names. They did not elaborate on the full names of the three suspects who have not been arrested.
Eight suspects in the murder of Vina and Rizky have gone on trial. A total of seven were sentenced to life imprisonment, while one minor was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment.
The eight suspects who have been sentenced are HS, ES, J, S, SD, RA, ER, and ST. Meanwhile, the three fugitives, namely Dani, Pegi alias Perong, and Andi, are last known to reside in Banjarwangun Village, Mundu District, Cirebon Regency.