In the reconstruction of the shooting of Brigadier J, several discrepancies were found amongst the suspects’ statements, one of which is related to who shot the officer dead.
The suspect in the premeditated murder case of Brigadier J, Inspector General Ferdy Sambo, attends the reconstruction of his official residence at the Duren Tiga Police Complex, South Jalarta, Tuesday (30/8/2022).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The various reconstructions of the shooting of Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, also known as Brig. J, further strengthens suspicions that it was a premeditated murder. Investigators need to examine the different statements regarding who shot Brig. J in the reconstruction before the evidentiary hearing.
The reconstruction of Brig. J’s murder began on Tuesday (Aug. 30) at around 10 a.m. and lasted until 5 p.m., covering a total of 78 scenes. The reconstruction was attended by the five suspects, namely Insp. Gen. Ferdy Sambo, his wife Putri Candrawathi, Second Agent (Bhayangkara Dua) Richard Eliezer Pudihang Lumiu, Kuat Ma’ruf and Brig. Ricky Rizal. Of the five, only Putri was not wearing a prison uniform.
As many as 16 reconstructed scenes depicted the events that occurred at Ferdy’s house in Magelang, 35 scenes depicted the events at Ferdy’s private home on Jl. Saguling III and 27 scenes depicted the events in Ferdy’s official residence in Duren Tiga. The reconstruction of the events in Magelang will take place elsewhere in Jakarta as prepared by investigators.
The reconstruction at Ferdy’s house in Magelang covers the events that took place on Jul. 4, 7 and 8. The reconstruction at the house on Jl. Saguling III covers the events on Jul. 8 and after the murder of Brig. J, while the reconstruction of the events that took place in Duren Tiga includes the murder of Brig. J.
The reconstruction was broadcasted online on Polri TV. However, not all the scenes were shown, especially those leading up to the shooting. There were 15 scenes that were not shown, including what happened after Richard’s meeting with Ferdy on the third floor of the Saguling house up to when Putri, Eliezer, Kuat and Ricky left for the Duren Tiga house.
According to the scenes that were shown, there appeared to be preliminary activities before the shooting occurred in Duren Tiga. On the third floor of the Saguling house, Ferdy met with Putri and embraced her while she broke down in tears. Ferdy then communicated with his aides via a handheld transceiver and Putri left the room. Ricky, one of Ferdy’s aides, then met with Ferdy on the third floor and had a chat. After that, Ricky went out to meet with Eliezer who was in front of the house.
After talking for a while with Ricky, Eliezer went into the house to meet Ferdy. Then, Eliezer went back downstairs, got into the car, opened a drawer, took out a gun and put it in a bag. The shooting in Duren Tiga was then reconstructed.
National Police Commission (Kompolnas) Comr. Pudji Hartanto Iskandar, who monitored the reconstruction, confirmed that the reenactment of the shooting of Brig. J further confirmed suspicions of premeditated murder.
KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO (RO
Suspect Ferdy Sambo (left) and suspect Putri Candrawathi (second from left) while participating in a series of reconstructions of the murder of Brigadier Novriansyah Yosua Hutabarat at Ferdy Sambo's official residence at the Police Service House Complex, Jalan Duren Tiga Utara, South Jakarta, Tuesday (30/8/2022).
According to the commissioner, the 78 scenes that depicted the activities of the parties involved, starting from Ferdy’s house in Magelang to his private home in Saguling and his official residence in Duren Tiga, were generally in accordance with the reconstruction. Thus, he said, the reconstruction can also be used by investigators to complete the prosecutor’s notes during the filing, such as clarifying the anatomy of the case.
Previously, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) returned the case files of four suspects, namely Ferdy, Eliezer, Kuat and Ricky, to investigators. The prosecution asked investigators to complete the files, especially regarding the anatomy of the case and the suitability of evidence for trial.
Varying descriptions
In some of the reconstructed scenes, differences in description were indicated by scenes labeled A and B.
According to the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) Director for general crimes Brig. Gen. Andi Rian Djajadi, each suspect was given equal opportunity to explain what they experienced and felt when the incident occurred.
According to Andi, each suspect is also a witness of their own experiences. Although there could be conflicting information amongst the suspects during the examination, each suspect could also refuse to retell the scene during the reconstruction. Regarding this, Andi continued, one suspect that refused to retell certain scenes was Ferdy.
Ferdy was then replaced with a stunt double. Ferdy and Eliezer both had conflicting statements regarding the scene of Ferdy’s official residence during the shooting of Brig. J. “Defend your own claims, it will later be proven in court,” he said.
It is planned, he said, on Wednesday (Aug. 30) that there will be a confrontation of information between Putri, Kuat, Eliezer, Ricky and a witness, Susi, who is a household assistant.
During the reconstruction, Kompolnas noted a number of discrepancies between the investigation report and the suspects’ confessions, especially in regard to what Ferdy, Eliezer and Ricky Rizal have claimed. For one, Ferdy claimed that he did not shoot Brig. J, while Eliezer claimed that Ferdy did.
According to Pudji, differences in the reconstruction does not pose an issue and is allowed by law. “The reconstruction does of course need to be balanced and perhaps this issue will be brought up during the trial to clarify how the incident really unfolded,” he said.
Trisakti University criminal law lecturer Abdul Fickar Hadjar is of the opinion that the reconstruction of the crime is not regulated by the Criminal Code (KUHAP). The Criminal Code states that although the suspects’ testimony can be used as evidence, investigators and prosecutors cannot rely on that alone. Instead, they should look to witness testimonies, evidence in the form of letters, expert testimonies and up to two pieces of evidence that might be clues. “This is because the suspect has the right of denial as stipulated in the Criminal Code. Hence, investigators and public prosecutors should not only rely on the suspects’ testimonies,” said Fickar.
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