Nothing goes well for the Indonesian police. The inspector general responsible for internal affairs, i.e. the “police of the police”, Ferdy Sambo, 49 years old, a two-star general, is accused of having his own bodyguard murdered and of having tried to cover up the murder with the help of weapons and influence and bribery. Searches over the past few days at three of his homes in Jakarta – his home, his official home and that of his parents-in-law – have seized the equivalent of several million euros, reviving speculation about payments he may have received in exchange for his “protection.” ” related to all sorts of illegal activities, from online casinos to drug trafficking.
The Sambo affair casts a spell over the Indonesians and shakes an institution, the Indonesian police, in which a culture of violence and impunity prevails as a legacy of the dictatorship (1967-1998): more than thirty police officers were on foot and saw themselves as criminals against charges of obstruction of justice, concealment or destruction of evidence in investigative proceedings.
Swollen and torn body
At the origin of the case, a strange piece of news: one of the general’s bodyguards, Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, 27, was shot dead on July 8 by another of his bodyguards, Bharada Eliezer, on the pretext that he had entered the bedroom of Mr. Sambo’s wife and attempted to sexually assault her by threatening her with a gun. According to reports, Mr Eliezer came to his aid and a shootout reportedly ensued, in which Brigadier Yosua was fatally injured. The incident would have happened in the general’s absence and would have happened after returning from a trip to the provinces where the couple had celebrated their wedding anniversary.
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For several days in July, the media and the general public, spurred on by the victim’s family and his lawyer, questioned the inconsistencies of the incident and successive official police versions. Why weren’t the security cameras working? Why did the bullets allegedly fired by Brigadier Yosua, even though he was a skilled marksman, all went into the wall when he fired back? The gun that killed him, a Glock 17 reserved for senior officers, is intriguing. Most notably, the family recovered the body of the swollen victim, with lacerations even to the face and two broken fingers. His cell phone was completely erased. His relatives were pressured not to question the official thesis.
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