Beginning of the murder trial for former Indonesian police chief Ferdy Sambo

• A former police officer from Indonesia is being tried for allegedly planning the murder of his bodyguard.
• Ferdy Sambo is a former two-star general and the chief of internal affairs for the national police.
• The case is considered as a test of accountability for the nation’s police force.

In Jakarta, a former police officer from Indonesia is being tried for allegedly planning the murder of his bodyguard.

A few weeks are anticipated to pass until the conclusion of Ferdy Sambo’s trial, a former two-star general and the chief of internal affairs for the national police of Indonesia.

After first being accused of attempting to cover up the crime, the case is considered as a test of accountability for the nation’s police force.

The bodyguard, Brigadier Nopryansyah Yosua Hutabarat, 27, was initially reported by police to have been killed in a shootout with another officer on July 8 inside Sambo’s apartment in Jakarta. However, Hutabarat’s family’s allegations that the bodyguard’s body showed evidence of torture prompted a second autopsy, which caused the police account of what happened to fall apart.

Sambo, who received a dishonorable discharge in August, is accused of premeditated murder, which carries a death sentence, and obstructing the course of justice.

A prosecution said in court on Monday that Sambo had told one of his policemen to shoot Hutabarat before shooting him one last time in the back of the head and firing his gun into the wall to give the impression of a shootout.

Prosecutor Sugeng Hariadi read from an indictment letter in the South Jakarta District Court: “Defendant Ferdy Sambo approached the victim Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, who was laying face down and still moving in pain near the stairs next to the bathroom.”

Then, while still donning black gloves, defendant Ferdy Sambo took out a gun and shot Nopriansyah Yosua Hutabarat once in the left side of the back of the head, the prosecutor said.

The bodyguard was allegedly accused of sexually assaulting Sambo’s wife, according to the prosecution.

Sambo’s attorney chose not to reveal the strategy his client will use. However, he claimed that Sambo had ordered that Hutabarat be assaulted rather than shot during a news conference last week.

Sambo, his wife, two police officers, and a driver are all accused of premeditated murder in connection with the killing of Hutabarat.

Sambo’s wife’s attorney declined to comment on her plea.

The verdict in a case that experts say is one of the largest scandals to ever affect the police is the subject of intense public attention right now.

Prabowo stated 97 cops were under investigation and 35 were charged with ethical transgressions in a statement on August 24.

In a recent study by pollster Indikator, the police were found to be the least trusted of all the law enforcement agencies in Indonesia. They are also under fire for their involvement in a catastrophic football stampede that occurred earlier this month and left more than 130 people dead.

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