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A former Indonesian National Police General, Ferdy Sambo, was sentenced to death on Feb. 13 after being found guilty of premeditated murder and tampering with evidence.

Murder and evidence tampering

According to the Jakarta Post, Ferdy was found guilty of premeditated murder of his aide-de-camp Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarant, as well as tampering with CCTV footage in order to cover up Yosua's murder.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Ferdy had instructed another aide-de-camp Richard Eliezer to shoot Yosua, before firing the fatal bullet himself.

He then instructed several other police officers to destroy CCTV footage in order to hide evidence of the crime.

Convict's defence was that victim allegedly sexually assaulted wife

Ferdy's defense was that Yosua had been killed in a firefight with another subordinate, which had started after Yosua had supposedly sexually assaulted Ferdy's wife.

The panel of three judges found that Ferdy's claim was "not backed by convincing evidence", and that no evidence of the alleged sexual assault by Yosua was found.

They also said that despite Ferdy's experience as a police officer, he did not take his wife for a forensic examination to prove the allegations of assault.

Prosecutors in the case were looking for a sentence of life imprisonment, but judges deemed it worthy of assigning the harshest punishment instead.

Since Ferdy's sentencing, his wife, his chauffeur, and his aide have all been sentenced with harsh prison terms.

Ferdy's wife was sentenced to 20 years for her role in the crime, despite the prosecution having only asked for eight.

Lost trust

The case has rocked Indonesia, as Ferdy was one of the country's most senior police officers.

Ferdy was the Internal Affairs Chief of Indonesia's National Police, a two -star general in Indonesia's police force.

For context, Indonesia's highest ranking police rank is the four-star Chief of National Police Force.

According to Fulcrum, the Indonesian National Police has been one of the most highly trusted Indonesian government organisations in recent decades, describing public trust in it as "stellar".

But the case seems to have undermined that, as many questions have been raised about the seeming irregularities in how the police have investigated the incident.

Timelines of events

A timeline provided by the Jakarta Post highlights this.

The murder took place on July 8 2022, but Indonesian police only revealed the "shoot out" three days later.

Ferdy was suspended from his role as Internal Affairs Chief a week later on July. 18, before finally being charged on Aug. 9 2022.

The Jakarta Globe indicated several reasons why the public was sceptical of the initial explanation of Yosua's death in a shootout.

Suspicious details

Yosua was said to have drawn his weapon first, but being the only person to have been shot.

Yosua's mobile phone also went missing, despite him having called his girlfriend "moments" before he was killed, and mysteriously left all his WhatsApp groups.

Indonesian president Joko Widodo eventually personally intervened and directly ordered the police to investigate the case.

Al Jazeera reported that the prosecution suggested that an affair between Yosua and Ferdy's wife was the reason for the murder, although Yosua's family dispute that explanation, saying Yosua was in a committed relationship.

But in September 2022 Indonesian newspaper Tempo said a lawyer for Yosua, Kamaruddin Simanjuntak, said that Yosua had been a witness to corruption, and had been murdered in order to prevent him from exposing that corruption.

Public sentencing

When Ferdy was sentenced to death in court, a trial that was publicly broadcast, loud cheers could be heard in court.

Detik-detik pembacaan vonis hukuman mati Ferdy Sambo oleh majelis hakim.
Keadilan telah berpihak kepada keluarga korban.

📽 @KompasTV pic.twitter.com/eyrmnX8KLw

— Biru Navy (@biirunavy) February 13, 2023

The Jakarta Post reported that Yosua's mother Rosti Simanjuntak was present during the sentencing, holding a picture of her son.

She told the press afterwards that her family was "satisfied", and that the ruling was "in line with our expectations."

Case gripped Indonesian society

The case has been the basis of much speculation, with several "true crime" style podcasts reaching over 10 million views on YouTube.

An August survey by the Indonesian Survey Institute and reported by VOI indicated that 77% of respondents were following the case.

Al Jazeera, calling it the "trial of the century", quoted Ian Wilson from Murdoch University's Indo-Pacific Research Centre as saying that the death sentence would have conformed to public expectations.

The "intense media scrutiny and public interest, along with the facts of the case meant a harsh sentence... was inevitable".

Top image via Wikipedia