It is a tale that has all the twists and turns of a tense true crime thriller – complete with a dashing young Indonesian diplomat, a potentially suspicious death, and conspiracy theories galore.
For the past three weeks, Indonesia has been transfixed by the case of the 39-year-old diplomat Arya Dayu Pangayunan, who was found dead at his boarding house in Central Jakarta on July 8.
Immediately, there was suspicion, when it was made public that Pangayunan, a married father of two, had been found in bed with his head wrapped in duct tape and covered in a blanket.
The fact that he worked as a diplomat at the Directorate of Indonesian Citizen Protection was also the subject of intense scrutiny. Previously, he had worked in Japan, where he had been a witness in a human trafficking case, and the bulk of his role consisted of assisting Indonesian nationals in trouble abroad.
The dangers of human trafficking, and the organized crime that accompanies it, is currently a hot button issue in Indonesia following a boom in cases of citizens being trafficked to countries like neighboring Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar to work in scam centers – and some wondered if Pangayunan’s work was somehow linked to his unfortunate demise, although there is no evidence that this was the case.
As the weeks went on, the speculation grew, with lawmakers, netizens, podcasters, and public figures all proffering theories.
The alarm had been raised when Pangayunan’s wife, who lived with their two children in the city of Yogyakarta while her husband commuted back and forth to Jakarta, contacted a caretaker at his boarding house, saying that she had been unable to contact him.
The employee reportedly opened the door to his room, which he said was locked from the inside, to find the young diplomat deceased in bed with his head encased in yellow duct tape.
While it appeared from the CCTV footage around the boarding house that no one had gone in or out of the room except for Pangayunan, it did not stop the rampant speculation.
This included that Pangayunan had been the victim of a stealth assassination by an unknown government – perhaps by a ninja descending through the ceiling – or that he had been fatally poisoned by some unknown drug, again as part of a coordinated assassination plot.
In an effort to appeal for calm, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto called for a thorough investigation of the case, leading the police to promise a “transparent and credible” investigation, which saw them seize 103 pieces of evidence, interview 24 witnesses, and consult with forensic experts, psychologists, cyber experts, and pathologists.
Finally, last week, the results of the autopsy and investigation were revealed. According to police, the autopsy found that the young diplomat died of suffocation and found no indication that any third party had acted to cause his death.
They also concluded that no crime had been committed.
While the word “suicide” was not explicitly used by the police, Pangayunan’s grieving family were quick to counter the police findings, saying that they refuted any suggestion that he would have tried to end his life.
Other commentators, including neighbors and tenuous acquaintances interviewed by the media, agreed with this assessment, pointing out that Pangayunan was about to move to Finland to take up a new post at the Indonesian Embassy in Helsinki.
Members of the public have remained dissatisfied with the findings, particularly due to the way in which Pangayunan was found with the duct tape wrapped neatly around his head – which many people have pointed out appears unusual.
The Indonesian police, however, countered this speculation by finding a string of emails from Pangayunan dating as far back as 2013 in which he expressed having suicidal thoughts and tried to seek help through counselling.
They also released CCTV footage of his final movements, which included him going up to the rooftop of the Foreign Ministry building, where he was caught on CCTV twice trying to climb over the barrier of the rooftop.
The duct tape, which many felt was a logistically impossible suicide method, was also explained by the fact that his head was wrapped in plastic beneath it, and only sealed with the tape. There were also no fingerprints on the tape other than Pangayunan’s.
Still, public skepticism is perhaps understandable, as trust in the Indonesian police is the lowest compared to other law enforcement agencies.
According to recent survey data, the level of public trust in the Attorney General’s Office is 75 percent, while the Constitutional Court scored 72 percent, the Corruption Eradication 68 percent, and the Indonesian National Police 65 percent.
In July, Prabowo urged the police to uphold public trust and show dedication in their duties.
Yet even the Indonesian National Commission for Human Rights, which visited the scene of Pangayunan’s death and monitored the legal proceedings, agreed with the police’s assessment that no third party had been involved. It did, however, also urge the police to reopen the case if any fresh evidence emerged.
Meanwhile, Pangayunan’s visibly distressed family have vowed to fight on and demand justice, convinced that someone else must have been involved.
Whatever happened, the police and other stakeholders appear to have conducted a reasoned and comprehensive investigation, which was actually likely to have been even more thorough and transparent than usual, due to the high-profile nature of Pangayunan’s role as a diplomat and increased public scrutiny around the case.
While many people enjoy a good conspiracy theory, the reality is likely to be far less complex and there is no credible evidence in this case that suggests foul play.
In philosophical theory, Occam’s Razor is the problem-solving principle that, when several possible explanations exist, the one requiring the fewest assumptions and unnecessary components is most likely the right one.
While the online sleuths may not agree, the simplest explanation – and in this case the one offered by the police – is usually the right one.