Kuat and Ricky Confess Subordinates had to be Obedient

In their exception, Kuat Ma'ruf and Brigadier Ricky Rizal admitted that they were only subordinates who had to obey Ferdy Sambo's orders.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

The defendant in the premeditated murder case of Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, Ricky Rizal (left in white shirt) after undergoing a follow-up trial at the South Jakarta District Court, Thursday (20/10/2022).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - Defendants Brigadier Ricky Rizal and Kuat Ma’ruf’s attorneys emphasized the role of former National Police internal affairs head Ferdy Sambo’s power relations with the other defendants in the alleged premeditated murder of Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, also known as Brig. J. In the exception read out by their attorneys during the hearing at the South Jakarta District Court on Thursday (20/10/2022, Kuat and Ricky confessed that only subordinates had to obey Sambo’s orders.

In this regard, they deemed that the prosecution’s indictment did not consider the context of the power relationship between Kuat, Ricky and Sambo, who at the time was still an inspector general. Ricky was Sambo’s aide while Kuat was a domestic worker at Sambo’s house in Magelang, Central Java.

“The defendant, Ricky Rizal Wibowo, was an aide to Insp. Gen. Ferdy Sambo and thus had to obey his superior’s orders,” said Ricky’s attorney, Erman Umar.

Also read:

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

> Sambo’s Police Contacts Set Murder in Motion

Meanwhile, Kuat Ma’ruf’s attorney, Irwan Irawan, said that Kuat was not at Sambo’s house in Saguling and Duren Tiga, South Jakarta, of his own accord. “How is it possible that Kuat Ma’ruf, a domestic worker, would have the initiative to do whatever he wanted without approval or instructions from his superiors, the witnesses Ferdy Sambo and Putri Candrawathi?” said Irwan.

Previously, following the hearing, the defendant Second Agent (Bhayangkara Dua) Richard Eliezer also said that he was an officer unable to refuse the orders of a general. Eliezer, however, made no exception. His attorney stated that the indictment was thorough and accurate (Kompas, 19/10/2022).

Aside from Ricky, Kuat and Eliezer, the public prosecutor also indicted Ferdy Sambo and his wife Putri Candrawathi in the alleged premeditated murder of Nofriansyah. Meanwhile, in the obstruction-of-justice case related to the murder, the prosecution has indicted Sambo, Arif Rachman Arifin, Baiquni Wibowo, Chuck Putranto, Hendra Kurniawan, Agus Nurpatria and Irfan Widyanto.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

The defendant in the premeditated murder case, Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, Kuat Ma'ruf at a trial at the South Jakarta District Court, Thursday (20/10/2022).

Afraid to disobey

In the exception, Ricky also objected to the indictment related to the incident at Sambo’s private house on Jl. Saguling, South Jakarta, where he was accused of calling Richard Eliezer to meet Sambo, even though he was aware that Sambo was going to order Eliezer to kill Nofriansyah.

The attorney argued that this was just the prosecution’s assumption because during the examination, Eliezer claimed that Ricky looked pale and panicked when he called him. This indicated that Ricky did want to reveal the truth but was too afraid to go against Sambo’s orders. The legal team also emphasized that Ricky was at the Saguling house and Sambo’s official residence on Jl Duren Tiga on Putri’s orders.

Erman asserted that only three people knew the truth behind Sambo’s fabricated story. “It was only known to Ferdy Sambo himself, Putri Candrawathi and Richard Eliezer as stated on page 6 paragraphs 2 and 3 of the indictment,” said Erman.

Also read:

> Eliezer Accepts All Charges Against Him

> Nofriansyah’s Murder Trial Begins

Ricky and Kuat’s attorneys assessed that the prosecution’s indictment obscured the incident that triggered the murder in the first place, which was Nofriansyah’s sexual assault against Putri at the house in Magelang. Kuat’s attorney, Irwan Irawan, urged the prosecution to clearly explain what happened at the house in Magelang, as it is a fact that has legal value and is not based on mere assumptions. The incident in Magelang should not be a stand-alone event but rather a part of the series of events that led to Nofriansyah’s death in Jakarta.

During this hearing, the public prosecution, led by Rudy Irmawan, immediately responded to Ricky and Kuat’s exceptions. The prosecutor dismissed all of the defendants’ objections because they believed their charges were true and based on law. The prosecutors believe both Ricky and Kuat were also involved in Sambo’s premeditated murder of Nofriansyah.

“We as public prosecutors ask the judicial panel to pass an interim decision by rejecting the defendant’s exception, so we can continue with the examination of the defendants and still detain them,” said Rudy.

The incident in Magelang should not be a stand-alone event but rather a part of the series of events that led to Nofriansyah’s death in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, in response to the exceptions of Sambo and Putri, which were read out separately on Thursday, the public prosecutor asked the judicial panel to reject all the arguments for exceptions submitted by Sambo and Putri’s legal advisers. They deemed that the indictment had been described in a clear, systematic and structured manner with detailed and complete description of events.

After listening to the public prosecutor’s response, the judicial panel adjourned the hearing until Wednesday (26/10) next week, with an interim decision on the agenda.

This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia.