Fandi's Plea Rejected: Prosecutors Maintain Death Penalty Demand
The trial concerning the alleged smuggling of nearly 2 tons of methamphetamine continued at the Batam District Court, Riau Islands, on Wednesday evening (February 25th), with the prosecutors responding to the defense pleas of the six defendants, including crew member Fandi Ramadhan.
The six defendants are two Thai citizens, Weerapat Phongwan and Teerapong Lekpradube, and four Indonesian citizens, namely Fandi Ramadhan, Richard Halomoan Tambunan, Leo Chandra Samosir, and Hasiholan Samosir.
Regarding defendant Fandi, the prosecutors rejected the defense plea submitted by Fandi’s legal counsel on Monday (February 23rd). Three prosecutors, Aditya Octavian, Gusti Rio Gunawan, and Muhammad Arfian, were present at the hearing.
In his response, prosecutor Aditya stated that Fandi, with his maritime education background, should have known the proper procedures for working as a sailor on a foreign vessel. Instead, in this case, Fandi chose to work through an unofficial agent named Iwan, who directed Fandi to Captain Hasiholan Samosir.
“The defendant worked through an unofficial agent named Iwan, and the agent directed the defendant to contact Captain Hasiholan Samosir,” said Gusti Rio Gunawan while reading the response during the hearing on Wednesday (February 25th).
Furthermore, he stated that during the recruitment process as a ship crew member, Fandi paid Rp2.5 million to Iwan through Captain Hasiholan Samosir.
According to the trial proceedings, Fandi graduated from the Malahayati Aceh Maritime Polytechnic in 2022.
With this educational background, prosecutor Aditya believes that the defendant, Fandi, knew the administrative requirements for working as a sailor.
Fandi is also considered to have understood the regulations regarding the cargo types of ships, both national and international regulations.
The prosecutor then highlighted the fact that Fandi, who was supposed to work on the cargo ship Mv. North Star, suddenly ended up working on the tanker Sea Dragon. The prosecutor stated that Fandi did not ask the captain of the Sea Dragon why the ship he was working on was different from his intended assignment.
In addition, the prosecutor said that Fandi should have known that the Sea Dragon tanker was not allowed to carry any cargo other than oil.
“However, the defendant did not ask about the difference in the ship’s name,” he said.
Fandi’s lawyer, Bakhtiar Batu Bara, stated that he rejected the prosecutor’s response. According to him, the prosecutor’s response merely repeated what was said during the sentencing hearing on Thursday (February 5th).
“So, what we heard earlier, after reviewing it, it only repeats what was said during the sentencing, that’s why we rejected everything that was said in the response,” said Bakhtiar in an interview with reporters after the hearing.
Furthermore, he denied the prosecutor’s statement that Fandi worked as a crew member through an unofficial or illegal agent.
Bakhtiar said that Fandi received an official contract for six months to work on the cargo ship Mv. North Star, not on the tanker Sea Dragon.
According to him, Fandi received information about working on the ship from Iwan, who acted as an intermediary connecting him with the ship’s captain, Hasiholan Samosir.
After being accepted for the job, Fandi paid Rp2.5 million as a thank-you to Iwan through the ship’s captain, Hasiholan Samosir.
“That’s not true, Fandi knew Iwan as an intermediary who connected him with the ship’s captain, Hasiholan Samosir, he worked through an official agency,” he said.
In this case, the prosecutors demanded the death penalty for Fandi, as he is allegedly involved in the smuggling of nearly 2 tons of methamphetamine on the Sea Dragon.
Fandi’s family strongly opposes the prosecutor’s demand. The family claims that Fandi is a victim. They say that Fandi was unaware that the Sea Dragon, the ship he was working on, was carrying nearly 2 tons of methamphetamine. Moreover, Fandi had only been working on the ship for a few days.