Jakarta. Death row inmate Ferdy Sambo had his appeal rejected by the Jakarta High Court on Wednesday, two months after he was convicted by a district court of murdering former subordinate Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Huatabarat and condemned to death.

“We uphold the verdict by the South Jakarta District Court to which [the defendant] is appealing,” Presiding Judge Singgih Budi Prakoso said after four other judges read out the verdict in turn.

The hearing was aired live by national television networks.

Ferdy was an inspector general with a key position when he plotted and ordered the July 8, 2022 murder of Yosua allegedly due to the accusation that the subordinate had sexually attacked his wife, according to court documents.

The unarmed victim was shot multiple times at close range inside Ferdy’s official residence in South Jakarta. In addition to premeditated murder, Ferdy was also found guilty of obstruction of justice.

In a series of hearings, active and former officers testified how they were asked to tamper with evidence and the crime scene to support Ferdy’s false claim that Yosua had died in a shootout with a fellow officer.

The district court also ruled that the sexual violence accusations against the deceased didn’t stand up.

Ferdy’s wife, Putri Candrawathi, was convicted guilty of becoming complicit in the murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Family assistant Kuat Ma’ruf and Brigadier Ricky Rizal were sentenced to 15 years and 13 years in prison, respectively, for assisting Fredy in the murder and failing to report to the police.

A low-ranking officer, Second Patrolman Richard Eliezer, was found guilty of firing his gun at the victim on Ferdy’s order. 

But the district court sentenced Richard to just 18 months in prison on the grounds that he agreed to cooperate with investigators and prosecutors in uncovering the murder case despite Ferdy’s obvious attempts to mislead the investigation team.

All defendants but Richard have filed an appeal to the Jakarta High Court.

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