Jakarta, IO – South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday (15/2) sentenced Second Patrolman Richard Eliezer to 1.5 years in prison over the murder of Police Brigadier Nofriansyah Yoshua Hutabarat. Eliezer was the executor who shot Yoshua on the order of his superior ex-police internal affairs division chief Ferdy Sambo.
The judicial panel led by Chief Judge Wahyu Iman Santoso ruled that Eliezer was proven to have participated in the premeditated murder, but at the same time he was also a witness willing to become a justice collaborator in exposing the high-profile case, reported BBC Indonesia.
Other mitigating circumstances included Eliezer’s regret of his action and Yoshua family’s forgiveness. Meanwhile, the aggravating circumstances was Eliezer’s attitude in not valuing his good relationship with Yoshua.
Eliezer was tearful upon hearing the verdict, as were his parents who watched the live broadcast of the sentencing from Bintaro, South Jakarta.
Read: Ferdy Sambo, the mastermind of cop murder, sentenced to death
Eliezer was the only defendant who got lighter sentence than what the prosecution asked for (namely 12 years). The mastermind, Ferdy Sambo, was sentenced to death. His wife Putri Candrawati got 20 years; his chauffeur Kuat Ma’ruf got 15 years while the other accomplice, Ricky Rizal, a policeman, received 13 years. (rr)