Ex-senior cop Ferdy Sambo gets death for murder of bodyguard in high-profile scandal

Former Indonesian police inspector-general Ferdy Sambo at his trial in Jakarta on Monday. - Reuters

JAKARTA (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): An Indonesian court sentenced former police inspector-general Ferdy Sambo to death on Monday (Feb 13) for the premeditated murder of his bodyguard, bringing to a close a high-profile scandal that has thrust the country’s police force into the spotlight over alleged impunity and corruption.

The South Jakarta district court concluded that the 49-year-old former internal affairs chief at the National Police was “legally and convincingly guilty” of masterminding the killing of a junior officer, Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, 27, on July 8, 2022, and attempting to cover up his crime by ordering the destruction of closed-circuit television evidence.