Ferdy Sambo Case: Former Police High Official Agus Nurpatria Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The panel of judges at the South Jakarta District Court found Agus Nurpatria guilty in the obstruction of justice case. At the sentence hearing on Monday, February 27, the court gave Agus a sentence of two years in prison and a fine of Rp20 million.

When reading the sentence, the chairman of the panel of judges Agus Suhel said that the defendant fulfilled the element of intent and "was legally proven to have fulfilled the charges."

The capital punishment is slightly lighter than what the public prosecutors demanded, which is three years in prison. Prosecutors also demanded a fine of Rp20 million, subsidiary to three months of imprisonment.

Hendra Kurniawan and Agus Nurpatria were accused of obstruction of justice for their participation in covering up the murder of Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat at the official residence of the former Head of the Propam Division of the National Police, Ferdy Sambo. Hendra, former head of the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the National Police, had followed Sambo's order to have the case. This case was handled internally, not criminally.

Hendra and Agus were also charged with tampering evidence by trying to remove CCTV footage around the Sambo official residence. The footage, later found by a special team formed by Chief of Police General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, played an important role in uncovering the fake scenario of Brigadier Yosua's death.

The footage shows that Yosua was still alive and well when Sambo arrived at his official residence, which negated Sambo's accounts of the event, with him claiming he arrived after Yosua died in a shootout with Richard Eliezer.

In addition to Hendra Kurniawan and Agus Nurpatria, there are four other Polri members who have tried for obstruction of justice. They are Arif Rachman Arifin, Baiquni Wibowo, Chuck Putranto and Irfan Widyanto. This case also resulted in dozens of other police officers being imposed with ethical sanctions, from verbal and written warnings to dishonorable discharge from the force.

MIRZA BAGASKARA

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