JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com \- The Jakarta High Court has rejected an appeal from a former police general Ferdy Sambo, who challenged his death sentence and conviction in a premeditated murder of his former aide-de-camp, Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, or Brigadier J.
“To uphold the verdict of the South Jakarta District Court No. 796/Pid.B/2022/PN.Jkt.Sel, the appeal [from Ferdy Sambo] has been rejected,” said the Presiding Judge Singgih Budi Prakoso during a proceeding at the Jakarta High Court on Wednesday, April 12.
"We declare the convict will remain in prison,” he said.
In addition to Ferdy, three other convicts also filed their appeals against the verdicts of the South Jakarta District Court. They are Putri Candrawathi (Ferdy's wife), Brigadier Ricky Rizal or Bripka RR (Ferdy's aide), and driver Kuat Ma'ruf.
Another convict Richard Eliezer Pudihang Lumiu or Bharada E, who was also Ferdy’s aide, did not file an appeal.
Also read: Ex-Police General Ferdy Sambo Sentenced to Death in Indonesia for Murder Case
Enough evidence was found to prove that the convicts had violated the premeditated murder under Article 340 in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph (1) 1st of the Criminal Code.
In this case, Ferdy Sambo was also involved in obstruction of justice or hindering the investigation along with his subordinates in the investigation of Brigadier J's death.
In the verdict of the South Jakarta District Court, only Richard Eliezer, or Bharade E received the lowest sentence compared to the others. The public prosecutor previously demanded a sentence of 12 years in prison for his role as a suspected shooter which resulted in Brigadier J’s death. However, the panel of judges sentenced him to one year and six months in prison.
Meanwhile, Ferdy Sambo was sentenced to death, while the prosecutor had requested a life sentence.
Putri Candrawathi, Kuat Ma'ruf, and Ricky Rizal were also sentenced higher than eight years as demanded by the prosecutors.
Putri was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Kuat Ma'ruf and Ricky Rizal were sentenced to 15 years and 13 years in prison, respectively.
The murder was motivated by Putri Candrawathi's statement that she had been molested by Brigadier J at Ferdy Sambo's residence in Magelang, Central Java, on July 7, 2022.
This unverified statement caused the husband much agitation and planned a strategy to kill Brigadier J, who then was shot two to three times by Bharada E at Ferdy's official residence in South Jakarta on July 8, 2022.
(Writer: Irfan Kamil | Editor: Dani Prabowo)
