Jakarta, ThedailyID — Indonesian police have arrested three suspects after a two-year-old boy was allegedly kidnapped in Makassar, South Sulawesi, in a case linked to a dispute over an online rotating savings scheme, locally known as an arisan.
Police identified the suspects as WI, NA, and NI. Authorities allege they forcibly took the child from his home in Makassar’s Tamalate District before bringing him to Pangkep Regency.
Makassar Police spokesperson Kompol Wahiduddin confirmed the arrests on Wednesday, July 29. He said investigators captured the suspects in Pangkep on July 14 after tracing the child’s whereabouts.
According to police, the child’s parents reported the alleged kidnapping on July 5. Investigators later concluded that the case was likely motivated by an unresolved dispute involving an online arisan.
“The motive is believed to stem from problems related to an online arisan. The child was taken to the home of one of the suspects in Pangkep,” Wahiduddin said.
Police have named all three individuals as suspects. However, authorities detained only one of them because the two female suspects are in the late stages of pregnancy.
Wahiduddin said investigators decided not to hold the two women in custody for humanitarian reasons. The investigation remains ongoing.
