CIMB Niaga robber gets 12 years in prison

The panel of Medan District Court judges sentenced the defendant named Marwan alias Wakgeng to 12 years in prison after he was proven guilty of playing a significant role in the CIMB Niaga robbery in Medan last year that was tied to terrorist activity.

The sentence was three years less than what the prosecutors had demanded.

“The defendant has been proven to have assisted the robbery by standing guard outside the building with a loaded weapon while the robbery was under way,” presiding judge Erwin Mangatas Malau said on Tuesday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Erwin added that the robbery had caused deep trauma to witnesses, citing the fact that witnesses to the robbery who had been traumatized were still receiving professional counseling.

Police counterterrorism unit Detachment 88 revealed a direct connection between the robbery with a plan to build a terrorist training camp in Aceh last year. Dozens of suspected terrorists had been apprehended and many of them had already been brought to justice