Police Name Three Suspects in Matches Factory Fire Case

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The North Sumatra police have named three suspects in the case of a deadly fire at a matches factory in Langkat District on Friday that killed 25 adults and five children.

The suspects were only identified by their initials as IM, BH, and LN, spokesman of the North Sumatra Police Headquarters Senior Commissioner Tatan Dirsan Atmaja told journalists in Medan on Saturday evening.

IM was a businessman while BH was the manager and LN was the supervisor of the lighter factory. They are currently detained for their alleged ignorance that had caused the deaths of 30 people, he said.

In another development, the local police Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team had identified seven bodies from among 30 dead victims. Those identified victims had been placed inside coffins to be then handed over to the victims' families.

Read also: Seven Victims of North Sumatra Matches Factory Fire Identified

The identified bodies belong to Shifa Oktaviana, 9; Rina, 15; Sahmayanti, 22; Vinkza parisyah, 10; Runisa Syaqila, 2; Bisma Syaputra, 3; and Zuan Ramadhan, 6.

Regarding the police investigation into the fire, the North Sumatra police had also interrogated the owner of a house rented to a local businessman who managed the factory.

According to North Sumatra Police Spokesman Adjunct Senior Commissioner MP Nainggolan, the house owner, identified by his initials as SM, 40, faced police questioning because he had rented the house to BH, 37, a local businessman who runs the factory.

Speaking to journalists earlier in Medan, Nainggolan remarked that police investigators also cross-examined BH, in connection with the deaths of the 30 people, including five children, in the house he had used to operate the lighter factory.

Located in Sambirejo Village, Binjai Sub-district, Langkat District, North Sumatra Province, the matches factory was engulfed in fire on Friday, claiming the lives of 25 adults and five children, who were trapped inside.

Read also: 24 Died in Matches Factory Fire in Langkat

Nainggolan further remarked that police investigators of the Binjai Subdistrict Police Precinct had also questioned four workers -- Dewi Novitasari, 29; Haryani, 30; Nuraidah, 24; and Ayu Anitasari -- who survived the deadly fire.

Police investigators had also summoned two witnesses, identified as Agus, 45, and Selamat, 44, who reside in Sambirejo Village, he revealed.

According to the Langkat Disaster Mitigation Agency, the fire killed 30 people, including Nurhayati, Yunita Sari, Pinja, Sasa, Suci/Aseh, Mia, Ayu, Desi/Ismi, Juna, Dhijah, Maya, Rani, Alfiah, Rina, Amini, Kiki, Priska, Yuni, Sawitri, Fitri, Sifah, and Wiwik.

ANTARA