Crew Member Faces Death Penalty Over 2-Tonne Methamphetamine Case; House Commission III Says Capital Punishment Should Be Last Resort
Jakarta, VIVA – House of Representatives Commission III held an audience session on Monday, 23 February 2026, to discuss the case involving a ship crew member (ABK) named Fandi Ramadhan.
He faces the death penalty in a case involving the smuggling of approximately two tonnes of methamphetamine in the waters of the Riau Islands (Kepri).
“As we know, Fandi Ramadhan is a crew member whose vessel was found to contain narcotics. As a crew member, he has been charged with the death penalty,” said Commission III Chairman Habiburokhman following the audience session at the Commission III meeting room in the Parliamentary Complex, Senayan, Central Jakarta.
Habiburokhman explained that his commission is treating the criminal charges against Fandi with serious concern.
He noted that the new Criminal Code no longer adheres to a retributive justice paradigm that uses the law as a tool of retaliation. Instead, it has shifted towards substantive, rehabilitative, and restorative justice — treating the law as a means of societal improvement.
Habiburokhman went on to remind the panel of judges at the Batam District Court that the concept of capital punishment under the new Criminal Code differs significantly from the old code.
“Under Article 98 of the new Criminal Code, the death penalty is no longer a principal punishment but rather a last-resort alternative that should be applied very strictly and very selectively,” he said.
He expressed hope that the panel of judges would consider Article 54, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code in the case involving Fandi Ramadhan, which stipulates that sentencing must take into account, among other factors, the nature of the offender’s culpability, their state of mind, and their personal history.
According to ANTARA, the Batam District Prosecutor’s Office in the Riau Islands has sought the death penalty for six defendants in a case involving the smuggling of two tonnes of methamphetamine transported aboard the vessel Sea Dragon Terawa in Riau Islands waters.
The six defendants comprise two Thai nationals — Weerepat Phongwan, also known as Mr Pong, and Teerapong Lekpradube — as well as four Indonesian nationals: Fandi Ramadhan, Richard Halomoan, Leo Candra Samosir, and Hasiholan Samosir.
In its indictment, the prosecution stated that 10 witnesses and three expert witnesses were examined during the trial proceedings.
Evidence seized included 67 brown cardboard boxes wrapped in clear plastic, of which 66 boxes contained 30 packets of green Chinese tea packaging each holding one packet of methamphetamine, and one brown cardboard box containing 20 packets of green Chinese tea packaging filled with crystalline methamphetamine powder, with a net weight of 1,995,139 grammes (nearly two tonnes).