Ferdy Sambo arriving on Aug 4, 2022 at the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department in Jakarta for questioning as a witness in the alleged fatal shooting at his residence on July 8 that led to the death of Brig. Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat.- Antara
JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): In a twist that was both shocking and yet hardly surprising, the National Police on Tuesday (Aug 9) announced they had charged former internal affairs chief Insp Gen. Ferdy Sambo with the murder of his aide de camp, Brig Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat
The arrest ended weeks of wild speculation surrounding a case that has gripped the nation.
Yosua was killed on July 8 in what the police initially claimed was a fatal shoot-out between him and another police officer, Second Agent Richard Eliezer, at Ferdy’s residence in Duren Tiga in South Jakarta.
The police said the altercation took place following Yosua’s alleged attempt to sexually harass Ferdy’s wife, Putri Chandrawathi, in her bedroom.
The police have now officially retracted that account, saying that there was no indication that Yosua was killed in a shoot-out and that there was sufficient evidence to conclude that Ferdy may have orchestrated Yosua’s murder and then attempted to cover up his alleged crime.
"After a thorough investigation, which includes ballistic, forensics, CCTV footage and phone record examination, our special investigative team found that there was no shootout during the day of the incident, and that Yosua was shot by [Richard] on the orders of Ferdy," Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo told a press conference on Tuesday.
"After the fatal shooting, Ferdy fired Yosua's gun into the wall of his house in an attempt to simulate a shootout."
The police have detained Ferdy since Saturday at the National Police’s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) detention centre in Depok, West Java, initially over possible professional ethics violations in regard to tampering with evidence.
Ferdy is the fourth suspect in the case. The police had previously charged Richard, Brig. Ricky Rizal, who at the time of the incident was on duty as an aide de camp and chauffeur to Ferdy's wife, and a man who has been identified only as KM.
Ricky and KM helped Richard to kill Yosua, according to the police’s chief detective Comr Gen Agus Andrianto.
All four suspects were charged under Article 340 of the Criminal Code on premeditated murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death, or life in prison, according to Listyo.
Despite the charges, the police said they were still investigating the motive for the murder and whether or not Ferdy also shot Yosua.
Initial cover up Yosua's killing immediately caught the public’s attention due to discrepancies between the account provided by Yosua’s family — who claimed he was tortured before he was killed, as shown by bruises and cuts on his body — and official police statements.
Allegations of a cover-up grew louder in response to the police’s claim that not a single CCTV camera at the residence had been working during the incident.
Under growing public pressure and following President Joko Widodo’s call for “due process” in investigating the case, Listyo formed a special team consisting of high-ranking officers to probe the shooting.
Since then, Listyo said that police had questioned 47 witnesses and investigated some 56 police officers in relation to the alleged murder case. He said that the special investigative team found that police officers who initially investigated the case had acted "unprofessionally" at the crime scene and that there were some attempts to destroy and tamper with evidence, including the CCTV footage of Ferdy's house.
The police chief said that so far 31 officers from the internal affairs division (Propam), the Jakarta Police and the South Jakarta Police, including Ferdy, were being investigated for potential ethics breaches over their actions at the crime scene, 11 of whom have been temporarily removed from their positions.
The officers could be charged with a felony if there is any indication that they violated Article 221 or Article 233 of the Criminal Code, which govern tampering with evidence, Listyo said.
Ahead of the announcement of a new suspect in Yosua's killing, President Jokowi once again urged the National Police to investigate the case thoroughly and reveal the truth to the public.
"From the beginning, I've said that [the police] need to investigate the case thoroughly. Don't hesitate, don't hide anything from the public. Reveal the truth," Jokowi told the press on Tuesday.
"I don't want this case to erode public trust in the police force, that's the most important thing. We need to maintain the National Police’s reputation at all costs," he added.
Listyo said that the special investigation that was carried out into Yosua's killing was proof of the police’s commitment to conducting an accountable, transparent and thorough probe into the case, as expected by the public and the President.
"I urge the special investigative team to continue to work hard and professionally. Use a scientific approach so that we can solve this case as soon as possible. It's proof of our commitment to maintain the National Police's reputation," he said.
