Chair of Commission III Stresses the Death Penalty as a Last Resort and Highly Selective

Jakarta, Kompas.com — Chair of the House of Representatives’ Commission III, Habiburokhman, has asserted that the death penalty is a last-resort punishment and must be applied with great selectivity. He made the remarks in response to Sead/Sea Dragon crewmember Fandi Ramadhan who did not receive the death penalty in the drug trafficking case of almost 2 tonnes of methamphetamine, but was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. “The panel of judges already fully understood that, based on Article 98 of the Penal Code, the death penalty is a last-resort punishment and its application must be very selective,” Habiburokhman told Kompas.com on Thursday, 5 March 2026. “We are truly relieved that our efforts to help the common people seek justice have yielded a good result,” he added. Earlier, the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL), National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, along with the Kepri Regional Police, thwarted a narcotics smuggling bid involving 1,995,130 grams (nearly 2 tonnes) on the Sea Dragon. Two Indonesian Navy ships, KRI Surik-645 and KRI Silea-858, also played a role in the operation off the southern coast of Tanjung Piai, at the Indonesia–Malaysia border, on Wednesday (21 May 2025). In the case, six suspects were arrested: four Indonesian citizens — HS, LC, FR and RH — and two Thai nationals, WP and TL. During the trial, it emerged that Fandi had only worked as an ABK for three days when the vessel was captured. He said he took the job to help his family’s economy and to fund his younger siblings’ schooling. At the verdict reading on Thursday (5 March 2026), Fandi was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. The trial panel, presided over by Chief Judge Tiwik, with associate judges Dauglas Napitupulu and Randi Jastian Afandi, noted several factors that mitigated the defendant before delivering the verdict. Fandi had no prior criminal record and cooperated and behaved politely throughout the proceedings. The panel also stressed that penalties for lawbreakers should be corrective and capable of prompting self-reflection. The new Penal Code also focuses on rehabilitating the offender’s role in society after serving their sentence.