It is not easy for the Police's DVI team to identify the victims' bodies, yet their hard work and professionalism resulted in the successful identification of the bodies of 25 victims as of today
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Edward Omar Sharif Hieriej confirmed the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team identified 25 bodies of victims killed in a fire engulfing the Class I Prison in Tangerang, Banten Province, on Sept 8, 2021.

"It is not easy for the Police's DVI team to identify the victims' bodies, yet their hard work and professionalism resulted in the successful identification of the bodies of 25 victims as of today," Deputy Minister Hiariej stated here, Wednesday.

Hiariej, representing the ministry, also expressed gratitude for the assistance of the Police's DVI team to identify the victims of the prison fire.


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Following the successful identification of 25 bodies, the DVI and forensic doctors' team are currently engaged in identifying the bodies of another 16 victims, he remarked.

Meanwhile, the Law and Human Rights Ministry also handed over a body to the victim's family, along with compensation worth Rp30 million (around US$2,100) and an additional Rp6.5 million (around US$455) for funeral expenses. The ministry had earlier committed to providing compensation of Rp30 million to each victim's family.

During the handover, Hiariej advised the victims' families to view the compensation as the government's concrete commitment to taking accountability for the tragedy rather than focus on the compensation amount.


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"I reiterated the Law and Human Rights Ministry's condolences to the families and relatives, who lost their families in the prison fire. We all understand that no one wished for this gruesome tragedy to occur," the deputy minister affirmed.

The Tangerang Class I Prison got engulfed in fire on early Wednesday (Sept 8) in which 41 victims, mostly inmates imprisoned for drug-related crimes, were killed. Casualties in the prison fire increased to 48 on Tuesday (Sept 14). An electrical short circuit is suspected to be the main cause of the fire.


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Translator: Yogi R/M Zulfikar, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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