The South Jakarta District Court has sentenced former police general Ferdy Sambo to death for the premeditated murder of his aide Police Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat in the conclusion to one of the biggest criminal trials in Indonesian history.
The sentence was read out by head justice Wahyu Iman Santoso to the cheers and delight of those in attendance, including members of Yosua’s family.
Santoso said Sambo’s actions tarnished the reputation of the Indonesian police force in the eyes of the country and the world. The judge said there were no mitigating factors in favor of Sambo.
Sambo was found guilty of the premeditated murder of Yosua on July 8, 2022 at the former’s home in Duren Tiga, South Jakarta.
As he read out the case’s lengthy verdict, Santoso concluded through evidence obtained that Sambo ordered another one of his aides, Private Second Class Richard Eliezer, to shoot and kill Yosua. Sambo also fired a gun at Yosua.
Sambo then manipulated the crime scene to make it look like Richard and Yosua had a shootout, with the former being ordered to claim that he caught Yosua molesting the ex-general’s wife, Putri Chandrawati.
The court rejected the defense’s argument that Yosua had sexually assaulted Putri due to lack of evidence.
Sambo was central in a web of conspiracy to cover up Yosua’s murder. Among those, the court said, was his order for the removal of CCTV footage from around the crime scene.
The court did not establish a motive for Yosua’s murder, but said that the severity of the punishment for the crime needed only be determined by Sambo’s intent.
The prosecution, who demanded life imprisonment for Sambo, previously argued that Yosua did not molest Putri but that they had an affair. The theory was denied by Yosua’s family.
Other than Sambo, four other people are on trial for Yosua’s murder, namely Richard, Putri, a civilian named Kuat Ma’ruf (who was Putri’s driver and assistant), and a cop named Rizky Rizal. They were also charged with premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit murder, but prosecutors are seeking more lenient sentences for the four.
