MEDAN: The Palembang Military Court in South Sumatra has sentenced Second Corporal Bazarsah to death for the fatal shooting of three police officers during a raid on his illegal gambling den.
The court found the Indonesian Military (TNI) member guilty of carrying out the killings in March, but rejected the prosecution’s charge of premeditated murder.
“The court hereby sentences the defendant to death and dishonorably discharges him from the military,” presiding judge Fredy Ferdian Isnartanto said on Monday (Aug 11), as quoted by Tempo.co.
In their ruling, the panel of judges cited several aggravating factors in the case, including Bazarsah’s decision to operate an illegal cockfighting and gambling ring, his unlawful possession of a firearm and his conscious intent to shoot the three police officers.
The court also noted that no mitigating circumstances were found in his favour.
Presiding Judge Fredy described Bazarsah’s actions as "heinous", adding that the soldier had failed to learn from a previous punishment for illegal firearm possession.
“This is the consequence of your own actions. Had you not resisted during the police raid on your gambling den and remained calm, you would not be facing the death penalty,” Judge Fredy said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
“But what’s done is done. Now, you must accept the consequences and take full responsibility for your crimes,” he added.
Bazarsah and his legal counsel have announced their intention to appeal the verdict. The fatal shooting occurred on the afternoon of March 17, when a joint team of 17 officers from the Negara Batin Police and the Way Kanan Police conducted a raid on an illegal cockfighting arena in Umbul Naga village, Way Kanan regency, Lampung.
Upon arriving at the scene, the officers fired a warning shot in an attempt to disperse the crowd. However, Second Cpl Bazarsah responded by opening fire.
Three officers were fatally shot in the head and chest during the incident: Negara Batin Police chief Adj Comr Lusiyanto, Chief Brig Petrus Apriyanto from the community development unit and First Brig M. Ghalib Surya Ganta from the Way Kanan Police’s criminal investigation unit.
Bazarsah operated the illegal cockfighting arena in collaboration with Chief Warrant Officer Yun Hery Lubis, the commander of the Pakuan Ratu Military Post (Koramil).
On Monday, the Palembang Military Court sentenced Yun to three and a half years in prison and dishonourably discharged him from the military for his role in managing the gambling operation. Bazarsah’s death sentence marks one of the few instances in recent years where a military court has imposed the death penalty on a soldier for committing an unlawful killing.
Last week, two soldiers from the Deli Serdang Military Command (Kodim) in North Sumatra, Chief Sgt. Darmen Hutabarat and Second Sgt. Hendra Fransisco Manalu, were sentenced to two and a half years in prison and dishonourably discharged from the military for the fatal shooting of a local teenager. The incident occurred in the early hours of Sept 9, 2024.
While staying at a local hotel, the two soldiers reportedly heard someone shouting that a motorcycle gang was passing by. Upon seeing nine teenagers riding three motorcycles, they instructed four civilian friends who were with them at the hotel to retrieve a car. The group then pursued the teenagers, and upon finding them, Darmen and Hendra opened fire.
The shooting resulted in the death of 13-year-old M. Alfhath Hariski. Rights groups have criticised the lenient verdict handed to the two soldiers, especially in light of the fact that two civilians who were with them at the time were sentenced to four years in prison by a civilian court.
In July, two soldiers from the Army’s Field Artillery Battalion 2/Kilap Sumagan in Medan, North Sumatra, also received lenient sentences for their involvement in last year’s violent attack on Selamat village, which left one villager dead and more than a dozen others injured.
The Medan Military Court sentenced Chief Pvt. Saut Maruli Siahaan to seven months and 24 days in prison, while Chief Pvt. Dwi Maulana Kusuma received a nine-month sentence.
Both were found guilty of assaulting several villagers during the incident. An additional 22 soldiers are currently on trial at the Medan Military Court in connection with the same case.
Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid has criticized the death sentence handed to Second Cpl Bazarsah, calling the verdict “outdated” and ineffective in addressing the broader issue of unlawful killings by military personnel.
“While severe punishment is warranted for Bazarsah’s crime, the death penalty is unlikely to deter such offences from happening again. What the TNI truly needs is serious and comprehensive institutional reform to prevent future unlawful killings,” Usman told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
