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Indonesian police hand disgraced internal affairs chief over to AGO for trial

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Jakarta Post - October 7, 2022

Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – The National Police handed over disgraced internal affairs chief Ferdy Sambo to the Attorney General's Office (AGO) on Wednesday, as the trials relating to the murder, and subsequent alleged cover-up, of Brig. Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat are set to begin soon.

During the police hand-over, Ferdy used the occasion to express his remorse to Yosua's parents, saying that he was sorry to "all parties affected by what I did, but in particular to the father and mother of the victim's family," as quoted by Kompas.com.

Previously in August, Ferdy had confessed, following a seven-hour interrogation, that he had orchestrated the murder of Yosua, alleging that he had done so after his wife, Putri Candrawathi – who has also been named a murder suspect – was harassed by Yosua during a trip to Magelang, Central Java.

"I did what I did because I love my wife. I do not know what language can express my feelings, emotions and anger after the events that occurred in Magelang," Ferdy said on Wednesday, adding that his wife was innocent and was actually a victim in the case.

"I am very sorry. I am ready to undergo all legal processes," Ferdy added, before being ushered away by authorities.

Also on Wednesday, the police handed over three other suspects in the murder case and six others charged with obstruction of justice.

The murder suspects, aside from Ferdy and Putri, are Richard Eliezer, Ricky Rizal and Kuat Maruf. All five have been charged under Article 340 of the Criminal Code on premeditated murder, which carries the penalty of life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Meanwhile, the suspects in the justice-obstruction case aside from Ferdy are Agus Nurpatria, Baiquni Wibowo, Chuck Putranto, Hendra Kurniawan, Arif Rahman Arifin and Irfan Widyanto.

They have been charged with violating articles 48 and 49 of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law and articles 221 and 233 of the Criminal Code, which govern tampering with evidence.

The AGO's assistant attorney general for general crimes, Fadil Zumhana, said on Wednesday that, with the suspects now in the custody of the AGO, it would help hasten the trial process.

"We want this case to be carried out quickly, simply and at a low cost, and [the hand-over] will make it easier for us to bring the suspects to trial," Fadil said, as quoted by Kompas.

The AGO, Fadil went on to say, aimed to hand over an indictment letter to the South Jakarta District Court no later than Monday.

"[We don't want] the time to be delayed any further, so that these suspects can immediately receive legal certainty," Fadil added.

Yosua's murder case and its alleged cover-up attempt by numerous police officers has gripped the nation for months, and is touted by observers as the biggest scandal in the history of the National Police to date – causing a collapse in public trust in the institution, as revealed by a recent public opinion survey.

The survey, carried out by Indikator Politik Indonesia and which polled some 1,200 respondents, placed the National Police as the least trustworthy law enforcement institution in the country, with an approval rating of only 63 percent.

The survey also showed that public faith in the National Police to properly investigate Yosua's murder had also dropped, as only 58.7 percent of respondents in the most recent survey believed so, compared with 68.7 percent of respondents in a similar survey in August. (ahw)

Source: https://asianews.network/indonesian-police-hand-disgraced-internal-affairs-chief-over-to-ago-for-trial

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