The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) has charged a low-ranking police officer with premeditated murder in the mysterious death of Brig Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat at the home of then-internal affairs chief Insp-Gen Ferdy Sambo last month.
The new suspect is Brig Ricky Rizal, who at the time of the incident was on duty as an aide de camp and chauffeur to Ferdy’s wife, according to Bareskrim director for general crimes Brig-Gen Andi Rian Djajadi.
“We have found two new pieces of evidence, enough to arrest Brig Ricky Rizal on suspicion of premeditated murder. He is now being held in Bareskrim detention in Jakarta,” Andi said.
Premeditated murder under Article 340 of the Criminal Code carries a maximum penalty of death or life in prison.
Ricky was the second officer to be charged in relation to the death of Yosua, after Ferdy’s aide de camp, Second Agent Richard Eliezer, was named a suspect last week.
Richard was charged with a lesser count of murder that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
On Saturday night, the police also detained Ferdy over possible professional ethics violations with regard to tampering with evidence.
Yosua was killed on July 8 in what the police initially claimed was a shootout between him and Richard.
Public suspicions were raised over discrepancies between the account provided by Yosua’s family – who claimed he was tortured before he was killed, as shown by the 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.
This prompted the President to call for “due process” in investigating the case, and the National Commission for Human Rights launched an independent probe.
Following public demands for transparency, the police suspended Ferdy, Internal Security Bureau chief Brig-Gen Hendra Kurniawan and South Jakarta Police chief Sr Comr Budhi Herdi Susianto. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
