Ferdy Sambo’s Subordinates Powerless Against their Superior’s Orders

The subordinates of Ferdy Sambo were unable to refuse their superior’s orders to steal, destroy and get rid of CCTV footage related to the murder of Brigadier J. Sambo is also suspected of manipulating them.

KOMPAS

The defendant in the case of obstruction of justice, Hendra Kurniawan, in his first trial at the South Jakarta District Court, Wednesday (19/10/2022).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The subordinates of former National Police internal affairs head Ferdy Sambo were unable to refuse their superior’s orders to steal, destroy and get rid of CCTV footage related to the murder of Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, also known as Brigadier J. Apart from being intimidated by his superiority, Sambo is also suspected of manipulating them into believing his fabricated story behind Nofriansyah’s shooting.

This was conveyed in the indictment of the six defendants in the obstruction of justice case related to the murder of Nofriansyah, which was read out at the South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday (19/10/2022). The prosecution led by Syahnan Tanjung took turns reading out the charges.

The hearing of defendants Hendra Kurniawan, Agus Nurpatria and Arif Rachman was presided over by a judicial panel headed by Ahmad Suhel, along with members Djuyamto and Hendra Yuristiawan. Meanwhile, the hearing of Baiquni Wibowo, Chuck Putranto and Irfan Widyanto was presided over by a judicial panel headed by Afrizal Hadi, along with member Ari Muladi and M. Ramdes.

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Hendra, Agus, Arif, Baiquni and Chuck were former subordinates of Sambo in the National Police’s internal affairs division whereas Irfan was working in the Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) at the time of the incident. The defendants were charged with helping Sambo cover up the murder of Nofriansyah at Sambo’s official residence at the Duren Tiga police complex, South Jakarta, on 8 July 2022.

The prosecutor claimed that Hendra Kurniawan was contacted by Sambo shortly after Nofriansyah was shot dead. Sambo’s subordinates in the internal affairs division then headed straight to the crime scene in Duren Tiga. At the house, he met with Sambo who recounted the fabricated story that Putri Candrawathi, Sambo’s wife, was sexually assaulted by Nofriansyah while resting in her room. After that, a shootout occurred between Nofriansyah and Sambo’s other aide, Richard Eliezer, which left Nofriansyah dead.

Arif Rachman was charged with evidence tampering for breaking a laptop containing the CCTV footage.

Sambo then instructed Hendra to do a number of things. He was asked to take care of the case, from taking the CCTV footage around the housing complex to replacing said CCTV decoders and getting rid of the footage.

To carry out Sambo’s orders, Hendra then involved the other defendants. He contacted several people, namely Agus Nurpatria, Baiquni Wibowo, Chuck Putranto, Arif Rachman and Irfan Widyanto. Chuck was the one to pass on Sambo’s orders to Irfan and Baiquni. Irfan then confiscated three digital video recorder (DVR) units from the house and the complex’s security post without a warrant for the confiscation of evidence. Arif Rachman was charged with evidence tampering for breaking a laptop containing the CCTV footage. Baiquni was charged with destroying evidence for transferring and duplicating CCTV footage from a DVR.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Screenshot of the broadcast showing the defendant Adjunct Police Commissioner Irfan Widyanto following a trial related to the obstruction of justice case of Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat's murder at the South Jakarta Class I District Court, Jakarta, Wednesday (19/10/2022).

In the indictment, it was alleged that in the police’s internal affairs division room, Sambo spoke with Chuck Putranto to inquire about the whereabouts of the CCTV footage. Apparently, the CCTV footage around his official residence had already been handed over to the South Jakarta police as evidence. However, that was not what Sambo intended.

Sambo then ordered Chuck to take the CCTV footage, make a copy and view its contents. Sambo also spoke to Chuck angrily. “Do it and don’t ask any questions. If anything goes wrong, I will take responsibility,” said Sambo, as quoted by the prosecutor. Chuck then responded to the order with: “Affirmative, general.”

According to the indictment, several police officers who were asked to take and remove the CCTV footage had also seen its contents from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., the timeframe of Nofriansyah’s shooting on 8 July. They were shocked to find that Nofriansyah was still alive in the CCTV footage. They then questioned Sambo’s claim that Nofriansyah was already dead when he arrived at the scene.

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Arif reported the findings to his superior, Hendra. Following that, Arif and Hendra met with Sambo on 13 July 2022. Arif explained twice that Sambo’s statement did not align with the CCTV footage. However, Sambo apparently did not believe them and said that it wasn’t an issue. Both Arif and Hendra were then helpless when Sambo forced them to maintain the story that Nofriansyah had sexually assaulted his wife Putri Candrawathi.

“It’s alright ‘Rif, let’s just trust him,” said Hendra. Afterwards, they followed Sambo’s instructions to get rid of the CCTV footage.

Arif met with Chuck Putranto and Baiquni Wibowo to convey Sambo’s orders. All CCTV footage was then deleted. Arif even destroyed the laptop where the files were stored.

It’s alright ‘Rif, let’s just trust him.

The public prosecutor questioned the actions of Sambo’s subordinates. According to the prosecutor, Arif, who had seen the contents of the CCTV footage and was aware that Nofriansyah was not killed in a shootout, should not have listened to anyone’s orders.

“That action in itself is a violation of the law. The defendant, Arif Rachman, should have secured the CCTV footage and not deleted its contents,” said the prosecutor.

Exceptions

Arif Rachman Arifin, Baiquni Wibowo and Chuck Putranto filed an exception against the prosecution’s indictment. The third exception hearing is scheduled for next week. Meanwhile, the other three defendants, namely Hendra Kurniawan, Agus Nurpatria and Irfan Widyanto, did not file an exception.

All three accepted and confirmed the prosecution’s indictment. Henry Yosodiningrat, the attorney for Hendra, Agus and Irfan, assessed that the indictment was complete and in accordance with the actions of the accused so they could directly proceed to witness examination.

“This hearing adheres to the principles of fast, cheap and modest. We will set the exception hearing for next week. Please use it wisely,” said chairman of the judicial panel Ahmad Suhel in the Oemar Seno Adji court room in the South Jakarta District Court.

This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia.