Indonesian Police Investigates Sambo as Suspect in Premeditated Murder Case

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Investigators of Indonesian Police’s Special Team at the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) Headquarters interrogated Inspector General Ferdy Sambo (FS) as suspect in a premeditated murder case of his bodyguard, Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, 27.

“Today, the Special Team’s investigators grill Inspector General FS as a suspect at the Brimob Headquarters,” Police spokesman Inspector General Dedi Prasetyo told the press as quoted by State News Antara.

The team coordinated with the Human Rights Commission, or Komnas HAM in the investigation, Dedy said.

Komnas HAM had scheduled to interrogate FS, though the process is pending, as the police’s special team conducted the interrogation first, which is pro-justitia process in nature, he explained.

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“The grilling started at 10 a.m.,” he said, adding that only the team’s investigators were present during the investigation.

Another investigation was also conducted by investigators of the special team, who questioned Kuat Maruf, or KM, in the same case at the office of the Police’s Crime Investigation Department (Bareskrim). KM is a driver and housemaid of Sambo’s wife. He is the only civilian named suspect in the murder case.

“The second investigation is conducted over KM as a suspect at the Bareskrim office,” he said.

Concurrently, the third investigation was conducted in parallel over an investigator of the Jakarta Police by the National Police Special Inspectorate (Irsus) at their Headquarters, he added.

“Meanwhile, the Special Inspectorate grills an investigator of the Jakarta Police at 10 a.m. (Thursday) at the National Police Headquarters,” Dedy said.

The Police has, so far, named four suspects in the case: Inspector General FS; Second Agent (Bharada) E, who is Sambo’s aide de camp; Chief Brigadier RR; and KM.

The four have been charged under Article 340 of the Criminal Code, subsidiary Article 338 in conjunction with Article 55 and Article 56 of the Criminal Code. If found guilty, they will face death sentence or life imprisonment, or a maximum imprisonment of 20 years.

Hutabarat, known as Brigadier J, died on July 8, 2022, at the official residence of Sambo, though the police only divulged details of the incident on July 11.

The police had initially said that J was killed by another police officer in a shootout at Sambo’s home, as he had attempted to sexually assault Sambo’s wife.

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The case triggered suspicion and uproar nationally, as J not only suffered from multiple gunshot wounds but also bruises and cuts over his body.

Later, on Aug. 9, Chief of the Indonesian Police Listyo Sigit Prabowo had stated during a press conference that no shootout occurred and that Sambo had created the scenario to cover up the murder.

The police continue to investigate the motive behind the murder that has become a major case drawing the attention of Indonesian people.

Source: State News Antara