The case against Ferdy is considered the biggest scandal to embroil the institution to date and has gripped the public for months.

Prosecutors at the South Jakarta District Court said on Tuesday that they had found enough evidence to prove that the killing of Yosua was premeditated murder and that Ferdy had violated Article 340 of the Criminal Code.

“[We] demand that the judges declare the defendant guilty, beyond reasonable doubt, of committing premeditated murder,” said one of the prosecutors during the trial hearing.

The prosecutors had also found proof that Ferdy had tampered with evidence by damaging CCTV cameras at his official residence in South Jakarta, the scene of the crime, and destroying the footage.

They demanded that “the defendant be sentenced to life in prison” for these two counts.

The initial narrative surrounding the incident suggested that Yosua was killed in July 2022 in a shoot-out with Second Agent (Bharada) Richard Eliezer, another aide-de-camp assigned to Ferdy, the National Police’s former internal affairs chief and two-star general who was dishonorably discharged in August 2022.

The prosecutors said, however, that Ferdy had instead fired the killing shot into Yosua’s head after Richard had shot Yosua on Ferdy’s command.

Read also: Police murder trial begins as calls for reform ring louder

Richard is currently standing trial for his role as an accomplice in the crime.

In the lead-up to the fatal incident, Ferdy had involved Kuat Ma’ruf, a private chauffeur and domestic assistant with Ferdy’s family, his aide-de-camp Brig. Ricky Rizal, and wife Putri Candrawathi to lure an unsuspecting Yosua to his residence. Kuat was reportedly ordered to close the house’s front doors to prevent Yosua from escaping, while Ricky was ordered to secure Yosua’s firearm.

For their involvement as accomplices in the case, the prosecutors in Kuat and Ricky’s trials demanded on Monday that the two be sentenced to eight years in prison each.

The prosecutors in Putri and Richard’s trials are to present their sentence demands on Wednesday.

Prosecutors in Ferdy’s case pointed to the convoluted statements he had made, his senior role at the National Police, his involving other officers in his crime and disgracing the police institution as aggravating factors.

“[We] did not find any reason to justify or forgive the unlawful nature of this crime [committed] by the defendant,” another prosecutor said.

The trial has been adjourned until next Tuesday to hear Ferdy’s defense statement.

Yosua’s family unhappy

Lawyer Martin Simanjuntak, speaking on behalf of Yosua’s family, said the family was disappointed that the prosecutors did not seek capital punishment for Ferdy, even though premeditated murder carried a maximum penalty of either the death or life sentence, Kompas.com reported.

Yosua’s family, Martin said, hoped that the judges would hand down a heavier sentence than that demanded by the prosecution. “[Judges] don’t always have to follow the [prosecutors’ sentence demand], especially if the defendant’s crime is deemed to be that heinous,” he said.

Read also: Police credibility on the line as questions abound in fatal shootout probe

Ferdy’s lawyer Rasamala Aritonang told reporters on Tuesday that while the defense respected the prosecution’s demand for a life sentence, the defense had found some factual errors in the prosecutors’ supporting argument.

“There is enough time, we have one week to prepare a response,” Rasamala said, as quoted by Kompas.com. The statement of defense would counter most of what the prosecution had presented, he added, as it had followed “a storyline that included some elements that were far from factual”.

Police reform

Ferdy’s case has sparked calls for sweeping police reforms, particularly for causing public trust to plummet in a country already wary of law enforcement.

Some two months after the facts in Yosua’s murder started unfolding, the police force was embroiled in another controversy: On Oct. 1, 2022, police officers fired tear gas canisters during a soccer match in East Java, causing a deadly stampede.

The crowd-control measure is strictly banned by soccer’s global governing body, FIFA.

Read also: Kanjuruhan stampede trial begins with police, organisers facing negligence charges

The scandals forced the hand of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who summoned in mid-October hundreds of hand police chiefs and high-ranking officers to the Palace, where he berated them and told them to take ownership of the institution’s missteps.

However, Jokowi’s attempt to discipline the National Police was soured by breaking news hours before the assembly that former West Sumatra Police chief Teddy Minahasa, due to step in as the new East Java Police chief following the Kanjuruhan Stadium stampede, had been arrested on suspicion of distributing drugs.

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