Jakarta – Two former high-ranking police officers were found guilty on Monday of obstruction of justice in relation to the initial police investigation into the July 8, 2022 murder of Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, meaning all six former officers tried for the same charges are now convicted.

The obstruction of justice trial was held in tandem with the murder trial against five different defendants, including former police general Ferdy Sambo who was sentenced to death for becoming the mastermind of the murder.

The South Jakarta District Court delivered the last two convictions to Hendra Kurniawan and Agus Nurpatria in separate hearings.

Hendra, who lost a rank as a brigadier general after being dishonorably discharged from the National Police in connection to the criminal charges against him, was sentenced to three years in prison for the destruction of evidence.

According to court documents and evidence presented to the court, he has ordered his subordinates to delete records from security cameras around the murder scene.

"The defendant while serving as a high-ranking officer of the National Police has failed to carry out his duty professionally," Judge Ahmad Suhel said when reading out the verdict.

Earlier in the day, the same court sentenced Agus to two years in prison for the same conviction.

Monday's hearings were the conclusion of a months-long trial that began last October against a total of 11 defendants.

From Thursday to Friday last week, four defendants got prison sentences between 10 and 12 months for the obstruction of justice related to the murder.

All six officers were the subordinates of Ferdy at the National Police's profession and security division when the murder was committed.

An unarmed Yosua was shot multiple times at close range inside Ferdy's official residence in South Jakarta. According to the court, Ferdy invented a story suggesting that Yosua had died in a shootout with a fellow officer.

First responders at the murder scene bought his claim but the National Police set up a new investigation team following public outrage and media reports of anomalies in police findings.

Ferdy and four other people including his wife Putri Candrawathi were named murder suspects in early August as police also began to interrogate those involved in the initial investigation.

Here is the full list of all convicts in the murder case:

Murder

• Ferdy Sambo, sentenced to death (Feb. 13)
• Putri Candrawathi, sentenced to 20 years in prison (Feb. 13)
• Kuat Ma'ruf, sentenced to 15 years in prison (Feb. 14)
• Ricky Rizal, sentenced to 13 years in prison (Feb. 14)
• Richard Eliezer, sentenced to 1.5 years in prison (Feb. 15)

Obstruction of Justice

• Arif Rachman Arifin, sentenced to 10 months in prison (Feb. 23)
• Irfan Widyanto, sentenced to 10 months in prison (Feb. 24)
• Baiquni Wibowo, sentenced to 1 year in prison (Feb. 24)
• Chuck Putranto, sentenced to 1 year in prison (Feb. 24)
• Agus Nurpatria, sentenced to 2 years in prison (Feb. 27)
• Hendra Kurniawan, sentenced to 3 years in prison (Feb. 27)

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/two-last-defendants-in-yosua-murder-trial-convicte