Heir Becomes Defendant in East Jakarta Land Dispute, Appeals to DPR for Assistance

Heir, Now a Defendant in a Land Dispute in East Jakarta, Asks for Help from the DPR The family of Armando Herdian (AH) is requesting assistance from the President and Commission III of the DPR regarding the land dispute case involving Armando at the East Jakarta District Court. Armando is the heir who was reported by an external party for allegedly embezzling the proceeds from the sale of his family’s inherited land, Tanudibroto. Armando’s current status is as a defendant. Armando’s family feels they are being criminalised and are facing a powerful force in this case. “We ask the President and the representatives of the people in Commission III of the DPR RI, Mr. Habiburokhman, to help us. We are just ordinary citizens. To the people of Indonesia, please monitor this case so that justice is truly served,” said Armando’s younger brother, Anthony, in a written statement on Wednesday (25 February). The continuation of the trial was previously postponed on Monday (23 February). The postponement was due to the fact that two experts who were supposed to be presented by the Public Prosecutor (JPU) were unable to attend the hearing. The panel of judges examining the case decided to reschedule the examination of the experts from the JPU for the next hearing, which will be held on Thursday (26 February). The agenda will then be immediately followed by the examination of exculpatory witnesses, which will be presented by the defendant’s side. “We will present witnesses so that this case can be seen in its entirety and not in fragments, as presented in the arguments by the JPU,” said the defendant’s legal counsel, who is part of the Legal Consultation and Assistance Agency of the Faculty of Law, University of Indonesia (LKBH FHUI), Puspa Pasaribu. This case began with a report against Armando. Armando was accused by a person named Abdurrohim of embezzling the proceeds from the sale of his family’s inherited land, Tanudibroto. This person, who is a stranger to the Tanudibroto family, reported Armando to the police three years ago, specifically on 30 May 2022. Puspa highlighted the irregularities in the charges imposed on her client. She urged the panel of judges and the JPU to clearly see that the elements of the article under which AH is charged are not met. According to her, if it is forced to be a case, what is implicating AH is purely a civil dispute, not a criminal act. She explained that there is already a civil court decision at the first level, which has been upheld by an appeal and a cassation, which has become final and binding (inkracht). “The essence of that decision is that the parties who claim to have been harmed by the defendant – consisting of a notary who made the deed of transfer of rights, an unknown party who claims to be an investor, and a retired police officer who received the power of attorney – have been proven to have committed an Unlawful Act,” said Puspa. (yoa/wis/wis) [Gambas:Video CNN]