Jakarta (ANTARA) - South Jakarta District Court found a former police general Ferdy Sambo's adjutant, Ricky Rizal, guilty of the premeditated murder of Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, or Brigadier J, and sentenced him to 13 years in prison.

At a trial session here on Tuesday, Chief Judge Wahyu Iman Santoso said Rizal had violated Article 340 subsidiary Article 338 in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph (1) Number 1 of the Criminal Code.

The defendant's actions, which stained the image of the Indonesian Police, and failure to be straightforward before the judges were the aggravating factors in deciding the prison sentence.

"The mitigating factor is that his family is dependent on the defendant, and we expect the defendant can be a better person in the future," Santoso said.

Meanwhile, Judge Morgan Simanjuntak said that the judges were convinced that Rizal was involved in planning the murder.

Simanjuntak said that Rizal was proven to have taken the HS-9 handgun -- the weapon used in the murder-- from Hutabarat, who owned the gun, and joined in the return journey from Magelang, Central Java, to Jakarta despite being asked to guard Sambo's children in Magelang.

Rizal also called Richard Eliezer to meet Sambo at his official residence, Simanjuntak added.

The sentence given by the judge was harsher than the eight-year prison term sought by the prosecutors at the trial session on January 16, 2023.

Rizal was one of the five defendants in the premeditated murder of Brigadier J. The other defendants were his superior Sambo; Sambo’s wife, Putri Candrawathi; Sambo's assistant, Kuat Ma'ruf; and Eliezer.

Sambo was sentenced to death and his wife was awarded a 20-year prison term after they were found guilty of the murder in separate trials on Monday (February 13). Meanwhile, Ma'ruf was also found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison at an earlier trial session on Tuesday.

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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