Murder of Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat

Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, a 27-year-old Indonesian National Police officer sometimes referred to as Brigadier J, was shot on 8 July 2022 at approximately 17:00 Western Indonesian Time at the Jakarta residence of Inspector General Ferdy Sambo, head of internal affairs for the Indonesian National Police and Hutabarat's former boss. Hutabarat had travelled to the residence from Magelang along with Sambo, another subordinate named Richard Eliezer, and Sambo's wife, Putri Candrawathi. According to the case established at trial, Sambo ordered Eliezer to shoot Hutabarat after alleging Hutabarat had sexually harassed Candrawathi. Hutabarat was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities initially described the death as the result of a gunfight in which Eliezer shot Hutabarat in self-defense, and news of the shooting was not made public until 11 July 2022.

Hutabarat's family disputed the official account after discovering bruises, facial incisions, finger injuries, and a burn mark on his body when a casket was briefly opened in Jambi. Family members alleged police intimidation, including officers surrounding their home, and questioned inconsistencies in the official narrative, such as Hutabarat missing all seven shots he was said to have fired despite being a trained marksman. Reports also emerged of deleted phone data, missing CCTV footage, and a missing mobile phone. The controversy prompted national police chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo to take over the investigation and form a special team including the National Human Rights Commission. Sambo was suspended on 18 July 2022. Hutabarat's body was exhumed on 27 July 2022 for a second, independently scrutinized autopsy, which on 22 August 2022 found all wounds were gunshot wounds with no torture marks.

Between August and September 2022, murder charges of premeditated murder were filed against Eliezer, Kuat Ma'ruf (Candrawathi's personal assistant), Brigadier Ricky Rizal, Sambo, and Candrawathi. Separately, six former high-ranking officers — Hendra Kurniawan, Irfan Widyanto, Agus Nurpatria, Arif Rachman Arifin, Baiquni Wibowo, and Chuck Putranto — were charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly fabricating events and manipulating evidence.

The murder trial began on 17 October 2022 in South Jakarta District Court. In January 2023, the court rejected claims that Hutabarat had raped or had an affair with Candrawathi, with prosecutors saying Candrawathi had invented the story. On 13 February 2023, Sambo was found guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced to death. Candrawathi received 20 years, Ma'ruf 15 years, and Rizal 13 years; Eliezer, who cooperated as a justice collaborator, received 18 months. On 8 August 2023, the Supreme Court reduced Sambo's sentence to life imprisonment and shortened the other sentences. In the obstruction of justice trial, Kurniawan and Nurpatria received three and two years respectively, Wibowo and Putranto one year each, and Widyanto and Arifin ten months each.