Four Relatives Including Brigadier Rizka's Sibling Sentenced to 8 Months 7 Days in Brigadier Esco Murder Case

A panel of judges at the Mataram District Court in West Nusa Tenggara has ruled that four relatives of Brigadier Rizka Sintiani were involved in the case surrounding the death of Brigadier Esco Faska Rely. “Sentencing each of the defendants to eight months and seven days in prison,” said presiding judge I Putu Suyoga, reading the verdict for the four defendants at the Mataram District Court on Friday. The four relatives of Brigadier Rizka who received the sentence are Amaq Saiun and his wife Nuraini, Paozi who was a colleague of the defendants and the victim, and Dani, who is Brigadier Rizka’s younger sibling. In its ruling, the panel of judges stated that the defendants were legally and convincingly proven guilty of participating in concealing or eliminating traces of Brigadier Rizka’s act of physical violence against the victim that led to his death. The defendants were found to have carried Brigadier Esco’s body from his child’s room to Danu’s room at the back of the house in Nyiur Lembang Hamlet, Jembatan Gantung Village, West Lombok Regency. By stating this, the judge concurred with the prosecutor’s charges that the defendants had violated Article 270 in conjunction with Article 20 letter c of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code. The verdict was lighter than the prosecutor’s demand, which had requested the panel of judges to impose a nine-month prison sentence. In its considerations, the judge noted that the defendants had no prior convictions and behaved politely during the trial. Aggravating factors included the defendants’ actions hindering the revelation of the facts of the victim’s death and causing suffering to Brigadier Esco’s family. According to the prosecutor’s indictment, the defendants allegedly helped cover up Brigadier Esco’s death by staging the incident to appear as a suicide. Defendant Amaq Saiun was said to have played a role in helping to move the victim’s body and participating in the manipulation of the crime scene. Defendant Nuraini then helped clean bloodstains at the scene, while Dani and Paozie were said to have helped move the victim’s body to the discovery site in the garden behind the house. Following the reading of the verdict, defendant Paozi stated that he accepted the panel’s decision, while Amaq Saiun, Nuraini, and Dani stated they were still considering their options.