His boss, Ferdy Sambo, was sentenced to death, while Sambo's wife, Putri Candrawathi, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after they were found guilty of the same crime in separate trials on Monday (February 13).
At the trial session here on Tuesday, Chief Judge Wahyu Iman Santoso stated that the judges found Ma'ruf to have violated Article 340, subsidiary Article 338 in conjunction with Article 55, Paragraph (1) Number 1 of the Criminal Code.
Meanwhile, Judge Morgan Simanjuntak stated that the judiciary panel had sufficient confidence that Ma'ruf intended Hutabarat to be killed at Sambo's official residence in Duren Tiga, South Jakarta.
The judges' confidence was based on the findings of Ma'ruf's actions before and after the murder was revealed during the trial.
Ma'ruf was found to have chased Hutabarat with a kitchen knife during their stay in Magelang, Central Java, and brought the same knife to Jakarta before the murder and joined the self-isolation at Sambo's official residence despite not taking a COVID-19 test after the murder took place, according to the judges.
The judges also found Ma'ruf to have participated in planning the murder.
Some aggravating factors considered by the judges before sentencing Ma'ruf are his impolite behavior during trial sessions and failure to be straightforward, to admit, and to express regret over his action before the judges.
"The family, which is dependent on the defendant, is the mitigating factor," Judge Simanjuntak remarked.
The sentence given to Ma'ruf is harsher than the eight years' prison term sought by prosecutors at the trial session on January 16.
Ma'ruf was one of the five defendants in the premeditated murder of Brigadier J. The other defendants are his boss, Ferdy Sambo, and wife, Putri Candrawathi, as well as Ricky Rizal and Richard Eliezer, Sambo's aides in the police force.
The five defendants were charged with violating Article 340, subsidiary Article 338 in conjunction with Article 55, Paragraph (1) Number 1 of the Criminal Code.
Apart from Ma'ruf, Sambo, and Candrawathi, who were sentenced this week, prosecutors sought eight years' imprisonment for Rizal and 12 years for Eliezer at earlier trial sessions in January.
Related news: Sambo sentenced to death over premeditated murder of Brigadier J
Related news: Brigadier J murder: Sambo's wife gets 20 years in prison
Translator: Putu Indah S, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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