Medan –
A married couple died after allegedly being poisoned by a car’s air conditioning on Harapan Pasti Street, Medan Denai District, Medan City. Here are the moments when the two victims were found.
The two victims were identified as Suharlin and Dame Lamria Pakpahan, both around 40 years old.
The neighborhood head of Binjai Village, Medan Denai District, Jun Hasibuan, said he first received information about the incident around 2:00 PM local time. After receiving the information, Jun immediately went to the location.
“I got the information at 2 PM that there was a death in a car in my neighborhood,” Jun said during an interview at the scene on Friday, June 5, 2026.
Upon arriving at the location, the car where the victims were found was still parked in front of the victim’s parents’ house. At that time, the car window was already broken, and both victims had been taken to the hospital.
Based on the information he received, Suharlin was already dead when found, while his wife was still breathing. Upon arrival at the hospital, both were declared dead.
“From the information I received, the husband was already dead (when found), his wife was still breathing, but by the time they reached the hospital, she was gone,” he said.
Jun said that the two victims were first discovered by the victim’s nephew around 1:00 PM local time. Before being found unconscious, the nephew had woken them up while they were resting in the car around 11:00 AM. At that time, the wife responded.
Then, around 1:00 PM, the nephew tried to wake them again, but both were already unconscious. As a result, the family broke the car window and evacuated them.
“After that, at 1:00 PM, they checked and there was no response anymore, so they broke the window and took them (to the hospital),” he said.
He mentioned that there was a power outage at the location last night.
“(Here) it rained last night, and the power went out. My house on Jalan Air Bersih Ujung was out from 7 PM until this morning when it came back on,” he said.
The Medan Area Police Chief, AKP Ainul Yaqin, said the police are still investigating the cause of death. However, based on preliminary assumptions, both are suspected to have been poisoned by the car’s air conditioning.
“We are still investigating whether there are any indications of violence or other factors. However, based on the facts at the scene, the preliminary suspicion is that they were poisoned by gas inside the car while it was running,” Yaqin said during an interview at the location.
Yaqin said the police received the report of the body discovery around 1:00 PM local time. After receiving the information, officers immediately went to the location to investigate.
According to family statements, Yaqin said, the two victims initially left their home to go to the parents’ house on Harapan Pasti Street around 11:00 PM last night. They went to the family home because there was a power outage at their own house.
However, upon arriving at the parents’ house, the two victims decided to rest inside the car.
“Based on family statements, when they arrived here (at the parents’ house), they didn’t want to go inside (the house) and only rested in the car parked in front of the house,” he said.
Yaqin stated that from family statements, the car containing the victims was found with the engine running and the air conditioning on. When checked, both victims were already in a weak state.
The family then took both victims to the hospital. Unfortunately, their lives could not be saved.
“(Both victims) were found already weak. When taken to the hospital, both were declared dead,” he said.
