Murder is when someone took someone else's life.
Most of the time, when petty crimes went unnoticed, wealthy and powerful individuals could sometimes get away from trials and sentences for even worst criminal cases.
But in Indonesia, this time, that isn't happening
Ferdy Sambo, a former high-ranking Indonesian National Police officer, a two-star Inspector General of Police who served as the Head of the Profession and Security Division of the Indonesian National Police (Kadiv Propam Polri), meets the end of his road.
After been found guilty of murdering Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, his own bodyguard and driver, Sambo was charged with premeditated murder, which in February 13, according to the judges, carries a death penalty.
Sambo who stood up, remains unfazed when Chief Judge Wahyu Iman Santoso reads his sentence.
It all began in July 8, 2022, at approximately 5 p.m. Western Indonesian Time, when Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, a 27-year-old Indonesian National Police officer, was shot at the Jakarta official residence of Inspector General Ferdy Sambo.
At first, Hutabarat was said to have died after a shootout with another member of Sambo's security, Second Patrolman Richard Eliezer Pudihang Lumiu. It was said that the murder happened after Hutabarat allegedly sexually harassed Sambo's wife, Putri Candrawati.
After the shooting, Hutabarat was transported by an ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead a while later.
Since the murder happened inside an official residence, and that it involved a high-ranking official, the news of the shooting was delayed until 11 July.
It was on August 9, or about a whole month later, that Sambo was called to participate in a reconstruction of the murder scene, ordered by the Indonesian National Police. His wife, Putri, was also present.
Sambo was then arrested, and charged with premeditated murder.
Following this, controversies after controversies started to unearth.
At first, it was found that when Hutabarat's body arrived to his family home, the police didn't allow Hutabarat's family members to open the casket. After some debate and discussions with the family, the police finally allowed only a few of Hutabarat's close relatives to open the casket.
That time, they expected to see Hutabarat's body being shot, but instead, relatives reportedly discovered multiple bruises, facial incisions, a burn mark and finger injuries.
As an officer who died, at first, Hutabarat was buried the same day he was declared dead, but without any police ceremony.
Days after Hutabarat's death, relatives reported that they were intimidated by hundreds of police officers, in a bus and 10 cars, who came to their houses. They even forced them to not take any photo or record any video.
It was only after this time, that Hutabarat's family contesteds, claiming Hutabarat was killed in a "premeditated murder."
There was also doubt about the alleged shootout, because the room where the murder took place, wasn't that big, and that how could Hutabarat, a trained marksman, could have missed all seven shots.
Yet another doubt, Hutabarat was fatally shot using a Glock 17 pistol, an unlikely firearm for Eliezer, who was still junior officer.
The premeditated murder accusation also became relevant, when Hutabarat allegedly received death threats, and that the content inside his smartphone was deleted after his death.
Then, there was the fact that the murder happened to be at Sambo's official residence. Questions arise when CCTV cameras at the house didn't take any recordings around the crime scene.
Then second, the police found that Sambo promised Eliezer immunity from prosecution, if he followed through with Sambo's version of the shooting. However, despite the assurance of Sambo, Eliezer realized that he remained the sole suspect for the murder.
This pressured Eliezer.
Soon after Eliezer started to dislike the idea of protecting Sambo and his cause any longer, this was when he started retaliating against his superior, by providing the police with a more accurate and open testimony.
For example, Sambo claimed that he only ordered Eliezer to beat Hutabarat. But Eliezer who retaliated, called that claim a nonsense. He said that his superior ordered him to shoot Hutabarat, not hit him or anything.
Eliezer clarified in front of the judges, that he was ordered to shoot, and that Sambo's order was loud and clear.
"I dispute about what he said about the beating. That's not true, because in fact he told me loudly, shouted too, he told me to 'hey, you shoot, shoot fast, you shoot fast'," said Eliezer, quoting what Sambo told him.
It was then realized, that Sambo used his connections and status to make contradictions to what the police had initially thought.
In their investigation, the police realized that Sambo purposefully used his gun to create a few gunshots into a nearby wall, in an attempt to show that Hutabarat's murder was a result of a shootout.
When the police found that there had been no shootout, and that it was Sambo who orchestrated Hutabarat's murder, things that were murky, became a lot clearer.
The police investigation slowly uncovered what was behind the allegations affair between Hutabarat and Putri, the missing CCTV footage, and the attempted cover-up by Sambo.
As of August 2022, the Indonesian National Police transferred 24 officers, including six middle- to high-ranking officers who face dishonorable discharge for violating the police code of ethics.
Out of the 83 officers who allegedly violated the code following Hutabarat's shooting, 35 of them received recommendations for incarceration while 15 were detained over code violations.
"This is the worst scandal in the police’s history. Imagine 62 people who were supposed to enforce the law voluntarily breaking the law and jeopardizing their future," said Sugeng Teguh Santoso, chairman of Indonesia Police Watch.
In the end, six high ranking police officers have been charged with obstruction of justice.
They were charged for allegedly helping Sambo fabricate the event, and manipulating the evidence.
Initially, Sambo was sentenced to life imprisonment. At that time, prosecutors believed that Sambo has been proven to have planned to kill Hutabarat.
But later, the judge stated that there are a number of things that weighed heavily on Sambo's verdict, one of which was Sambo's actions that tarnished the image of the Indonesian National Police.
The judge stated that there were no mitigating circumstances for Sambo.
It was on February 13th, that Chief Judge Wahyu Iman Santoso gave Sambo a death sentence.
Sambo also violated Article 49 in conjunction with Article 33 of Law No. 19 of 2016 on Changes to Law No. 11 of 2008 on Electronic Information and Transaction, in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph (1) Number 1 of the Criminal Code, the judge added.
Based on this consideration, the judges do not have sufficient confidence that Hutabarat perpetrated sexual violence against Putri Candrawathi, which was the main reason Sambo had cited as justification for the murder.
"The defendant's action has dragged a large number of police officers (into the crime)," the judge stated.
Others charged, include Kuat Ma'ruf, Putri's personal assistant, who was charged with premeditated murder, and Brigadier Ricky Rizal, one of Putri's bodyguard, who was also arrested and charged with premeditated murder. Prosecutors sought eight years in prison for Ma’ruf and Rizal.
Putri received 20 years in prison time.
Meanwhile, Eliezer, or best known for the initial Bharada E during this case, was sought 12 years of prison time. But in the end, he only received 1 year and 6 months of jail time.
"Sentenced the defendant Richard Eliezer with imprisonment for one year and six months," said Chief Judge Wahyu Iman Santoso , noting that Eliezer was legally and convincingly proven guilty of violating Article 340, subsidiary Article 338 juncto Article 55, paragraph (1) 1st of the Criminal Code.
However, the judges took into account aggravating and also mitigating factors.
The panel of judges concluded that Eliezer had deliberately intended to kill Hutabarat, and that Eliezer responded to Sambo's command before shooting Hutabarat on his left chest.
"The series of activities reflected the defendant's inner attitude that was none other than showing intention to kill the victim," the judge remarked.
"(In terms of) the mitigating factor, the defendant is a witness to the perpetrators, who cooperated," judiciary panel member Alimin Ribut Sujono stated.
"His honesty, courage, and determination to reveal this case deserved a justice collaborator status or a witness who is willing to cooperate," the judges said.
The judges concluded that Eliezer was never the main actor, and that he was never the mastermind behind all this. Therefore, it's possible for him to obtain the justice collaborator status.
The case caught much of the public attention, simply because it involves a high-ranking officer, and a lot more officers who backed him.
It went to an extent that the Indonesian government had to fought through various fake news, including when an anonymous contributor to Indonesian Wikipedia was reported to the police for editing Police Inspector General Fadil Imran's Wikipedia article to make an allegation that Imran had been bribed by Sambo.
Then, a man was also arrested for posting allegations of Sambo being connected to gambling on his TikTok account. A woman was also taken to the police after likening a police officer in her area to Sambo on her social media account.
During the course of the trial, the public in Indonesia believed that the Indonesian National Police would fully solve the case.
"Open it as it is. No cover-up. Transparent. That’s it. This is important so that the people don’t have doubts over the incident that occurred. This is what has to be maintained. Public trust in the police must be maintained," said Indonesia's President Joko Widodo.
The President has said it for multiple times, that the case must be solved transparently.
And when the judge finally imposed a death sentence to Sambo, the internet cherished that the case is finally a closed case.
The term Ferdy Sambo has become a trending topic on Twitter and various social media platforms, as many commented on the judge's brave decision to put an end to Sambo's case.
Netizens in Indonesia also praised Chief Judge Wahyu Iman Santoso for imposing a death sentence to Sambo, considering that it wasn't easy for him, since Sambo is a high-profile individual, a general, and a respected person.
During his lifetime, Sambo, who married Putri Candrawati, has four children.
There has been controversy surrounding his wealth, with the public wondering how can Sambo, with the salary of a police general, could live in a life more luxurious than many of his peers.
Sambo owns a number of luxury cars, including a few Lexus vehicles. He also owns several properties across the country.
It's worth noting that, Hutabarat's body was reburied in a police ceremony after the autopsy.
