We’re not sure what former police general Ferdy Sambo is aiming for here, to tell you the truth.
The disgraced cop, suspected of being the mastermind behind the murder of his subordinate, was dishonorably discharged from the force by an ethics panel within the National Police. Sambo’s hearing began on Thursday evening and ran into the early hours of Friday morning.
The panel found that Sambo had disgraced the force by plotting the murder of Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat and attempting to cover up the crime.
“[Ferdy Sambo] gets a dishonorable discharge from the National Police,” panel chair Commissioner General Ahmad Dofiri said towards the conclusion of the hearing.
Sambo apologized for damaging the public’s trust in the police, yet said that he would appeal the verdict.
While the law allows Sambo an opportunity to appeal, the fact that he is going down that avenue contradicts how he tendered his resignation from the police force on Aug. 24.
It is, however, highly unlikely that Sambo would win the appeal considering that, to many, he has come to symbolize police corruption.
Police previously said that Yosua was gunned down by his colleague, Private Second Class E, in a shootout at the South Jakarta home of their boss, Internal Affairs Division Chief Inspector General Ferdy Sambo, on July 8. The official line from the police then was that Yosua, who was Sambo’s bodyguard, had molested his boss’ wife and threatened to kill her, before firing at E first after he was caught.
After intense public pressure amid glaring discrepancies in the case, an investigation by a special task force said that Sambo himself ordered the murder. In addition, there was allegedly no shootout, as Sambo staged the crime scene to look like there had been one. To do that, the general allegedly used Yosua’s gun to fire at the walls of the house, but it’s not yet known whether or not he also shot his bodyguard.
Police have not officially announced Sambo’s motive for the murder, but speculation has been rife – as outlined by lawmakers in a recent parliamentary hearing about the case – that Yosua was privy to his boss’ shady dealings, such as running a gambling ring.
Sambo was charged with premeditated murder, which carries the death penalty under Indonesia’s Criminal Code (KUHP). Other suspects in the case include E, who was allegedly the hitman, and Sambo’s wife, who allegedly conspired with her husband to cover up the murder. Two other cops who answered to Sambo have also been charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
