Military Prosecutor Requests Judge to Reject Exception Filed by Defence in State-Owned Bank Branch Head Murder Case

Jakarta - The Military Prosecutor’s Office II-07 has responded to the exception filed by the defence counsel of the defendant in the case of the murder of the head of a state-owned bank branch, Mohammad Ilham Pradipta. In the exception, the designation of the third defendant, Serka Frengky Yaru, was deemed to be a misdirection. In this case, there are three defendants: Defendant I Serka Muhammad Nasir, Defendant II Kopda Feri Heriyanto, and Defendant III Serka Frengky Yaru. Wasinton explained that the designation of the defendants was carried out through the investigation and inquiry process in accordance with Law No. 31 of 1997 on Military Justice. He emphasised that the designation was not done arbitrarily, but based on at least two sufficient pieces of evidence as stipulated in Article 172 paragraph (1) of Law No. 31 of 1997. According to him, this aligns with judicial practice that limits exceptions to formal aspects, such as jurisdiction to try and clarity of the indictment. “There is no error in legal subject or error in persona; in this case, the Military Prosecutor has a strong basis for designating the Third Defendant, including witness statements, documents, and consistency of the defendants’ statements with the criminal incident as well as material evidence,” he stated. Previously, the legal counsel for the three defendants in the murder case of the state-owned bank branch head, Mohammad Ilham Pradipta, assessed that one of the defendants was not involved in the murder incident. “In the indictment letter, it is not specifically stated nor is there any indication related to premeditated murder, joint murder, assault resulting in death, or deprivation of liberty carried out by the Third Defendant against the victim,” said the defendant’s legal counsel, Lieutenant Colonel Chk Nugroho Muhammad, in the courtroom of the Military Court II-08 Jakarta, on Monday (13/4/2026). “The designation of the Third Defendant as a suspect is not based on at least two valid pieces of evidence. There is no alleged criminal act committed, no connection of the Defendant to the case, thus the process does not comply with legal procedures,” Nugroho stated. Nugroho also explained that the designation of a suspect based on the Constitutional Court decision must be supported by at least two valid pieces of evidence.