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Reduced sentences for Ferdy, accomplices meet with mixed reactions
While the general public has found fault with the Supreme Court’s decision reduce the sentences of those found guilty for the premeditated murder of National Police Brig. Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, human rights experts have lauded it as a step toward abolishing capital punishment.
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Ferdy Sambo, formerly chief of the National Police’s Internal Affairs Division, attends a hearing on Oct. 17, 2022 during his trial for the premeditated murder of his aide-de-camp Brig. Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat at the South Jakarta District Court. (Reuters/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
T
he general public bemoaned the Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday to reduce the sentences of Ferdy Sambo and his accomplices for their role in the murder of his aide-de-camp Brig. Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, though some observers have applauded the court’s decision away from capital punishment.
In a 3-2 decision, the Supreme Court justices decided to reduce former two-star police general Ferdy’s death sentence to life in prison. The sentences of the other defendants convicted in the case, Ferdy’s wife Putri Chandrawathi, aide Ricky Rizal and chauffeur Kuat Ma’ruf, were also reduced to between 8 and 10 years.
The Supreme Court’s decision, which is final and binding, has drawn a legal curtain on the premeditated murder of Yosua, a criminal case that gripped the nation for more than a year and seen as the biggest scandal to hit the National Police in recent years.
In February, the South Jakarta District Court found Ferdy guilty of the premeditated murder of Yosua and of tampering with evidence to orchestrate a cover-up. The court sentenced him to death, heavier than the life sentence prosecutors demanded.
Ferdy, who was the National Police’s internal affairs chief at the time, was convicted over fatally shooting Yosua in the head in his Jakarta residence in July 2022, and then attempting to cover up the crime by making it appear that Yosua was killed during a shoot-out with fellow aide-de-camp Second Agent (Bharada) Richard Eliezer.
Read also: Sambo murder trial puts spotlight on police impunity
The district court also found Ferdy guilty of enlisting Putri, Kuat and Ricky in assisting him in carrying out the cover-up.
