Ilham Oktafian, Jakarta – Former police general Ferdy Sambo, serving a life sentence for orchestrating a subordinate's murder, allegedly never spent a night in his cell at Jakarta's Salemba Penitentiary, an ex-convict has said.

Ferdy was initially held at Salemba before he was transferred to Cibinong Penitentiary in West Java following a Supreme Court decision to commute his death sentence in late August.

Lawyer Alvin Lim, who has served time at Salemba for a separate conviction, claimed in a recent podcast interview that he never witnessed Ferdy within the confines of the facility.

"Sambo never slept in a Salemba prison cell," Alvin said in a Wednesday streamed podcast. He noted that Ferdy often spent nights in an air-conditioned room on an upper floor.

When contacted, Alvin stood by his claim and said he was ready to face a police inquiry over that. "I speak based on what I personally saw and heard," Alvin said.

Ferdy was convicted of orchestrating the murder of his former subordinate, Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, and was sentenced to death by the South Jakarta District Court on February 13. This sentence was upheld by the High Jakarta Court.

However, in August, citing Ferdy's 30-year service with the National Police, the Supreme Court commuted his sentence to life imprisonment.

Salemba prison warden Beni Hidayat vehemently refuted Alvin's claim. He said Ferdy was only at Salemba from August 24 to 29 as part of an assimilation program and was never put in a separate accommodation.

"As an inmate, Ferdy Sambo was housed at the Saroso cellblock on the first floor, and our records confirm this," Beni said.

Alvin, sentenced to 4.5 years for document forgery in August 2022, had his term reduced to 2 years after appealing to the Supreme Court. He was released on Christmas Day, benefiting from multiple sentence reductions for good behavior.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/exconvict-alleges-ferdy-sambo-never-occupied-salemba-prison-cel