UNS student died during Menwa training due to blunt trauma

Gilang Endi Saputra, 21, a student of the Occupational Safety and Health, School of Vocational Study, Sebelas Maret University, Solo died during the basic education and training held by the Student Regiment (Menwa).

As reported by Kompas, the Solo City Police Chief Sr. Comr. Ade Safri Simanjuntak said that according to the autopsy result, Gilang died because of blunt force trauma. 

The training began on 23 October and was supposed to end on 31 October. However, just one day after its commencement, Gilang died. Including Gilang, there were 21 students who participated in the training. 

A training committee member at a press conference at UNS on 26 October said that before his death, Gilang complained of leg cramps and back pain. 

“Gilang reached out to the committee on 23 October, saying that he was experiencing leg cramps. He was then accompanied by a committee member. According to the committee member, at that time there were no physical signs of fatigue, etc.,” said UNS Director of Academic Reputation and Student Affairs Sutanto. 

The next morning began with a gymnastics activity and morning call, followed by an off-campus activity at the Jurug bridge. They then returned to campus, and Gilang said that he had a back pain. At around 2pm, Gilang received a compress on his head. Not long after, he lost consciousness. 

The committee decided to take him to Dr Moewardi Hospital, Solo. However, they noticed that Gilang was no longer breathing on the way to the hospital. Gilang was pronounced dead on arrival.

The university temporarily froze the Menwa training while it investigates the incident and evaluates the training programme. Hashtag #JusticeForGilang was trending on Twitter, with netizens urging the police to do thorough investigation to uncover this incident.