Sambo Saga: The Conspiracy of Cop Murder Case Ended with Death Sentence

TheIndonesia.id - Discharged Indonesian police general Ferdy Sambo was sentenced to death after the court found him guilty of murdering his fellow police guard and assistant, Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, Monday, February 13th, 2023. 

Sambo's murder case draws national attention after dragging many police officers in his conspiracy to cover the premeditated murder's trace. 

Ironically, multiple outstanding officers holding high power in the institution got the bitter taste of jail after being accused of being involved in covering Yosua's death. 

A fatal shootout between two cops

Previously, Yosua was reported to be killed by his fellow policeman, Eliezer - also Sambo's guard, in a fatal shootout. They were entangled in a shootout because Yosua was alleged to have harassed Ferdy's wive. 

Yosua's lascivious action got caught by Eliezer, making him spontaneously open fire. Looking like an action movie scene, they were involved in a shootout, leaving Yosua to die. 

The national police reported the incident happened in Sambo's official residence in South Jakarta in July 2022. However, the inconsistent statements by the police left Indonesia's citizens in question. 

What is actually happening? What is the real scene? What exactly motivates Sambo for killing Yosua? 

Many protests, especially from Yosua's family, raising all over the country, making the police institution form a special team to investigate the case.

The shootout was a scenario

After a long investigation - not only of the alleged mastermind and perpetrator but also of the former police officers who had investigated the case - it was found that the shootout action was only a scenario. It was created by the mastermind, Ferdy Sambo to hide the "real" Yosua's death causes. 

The special police investigator team found out that Yosua was killed by Eliezer on order from Sambo. It was not clear about the exact motive and reason why Sambo killed him. 

Because of this movie-like scenario, more than a hundred Indonesian police were involved and at least 10 of them were removed or suspended from their posts. 

The case became the biggest police officer's case in Indonesia's history so far, making people's trust in the institution war off more than ever. 

Sambo Sentenced To Death

Sambo is accused of ordering the murder of Yosua, who was shot multiple times at close range by his fellow friend, Eliezer. Not only did Sambo who went to trial, but the other four suspects had also detained. They were Eliezer who allegedly shot the victim, Brigadier Ricky Rizal, Ferdy’s wife Putri Candrawathi, and their personal driver, Kuat Ma’ruf.

After a long process of trial - almost 4 months, Sambo was found guilty on Monday, February 13, 2022, of ordering the murder of his own police guard, Yosua, and sentenced to death.

Ferdy is also convicted of obstruction of justice for attempting to cover up the murder with the help of his subordinates at the National Police headquarters. It was later found that records from security cameras around the murder scene were removed or destroyed.

Presiding Judge Wahyu Iman Santoso said there are no extenuating circumstances for any leniency for the defendant.

According to the three-member panel, Ferdy had carefully prepared everything with the firm intention to kill Yosua.