Military Prosecutor Reveals Reasons for Rejecting Merger of Case Files for Jakarta Bank Branch Head Defendants

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Major (Chk) Wasinton Marpaung, the military prosecutor from Oditurat Militer II-07 Jakarta, has revealed the reasons why his office rejected the merger of case files for the defendants in the alleged kidnapping and murder of a bank branch head (kacab) in Jakarta.

This response addresses the objection note (exception) submitted by the defendants’ legal counsel during the hearing held on Monday (13/4).

“The legal counsel’s argument regarding differences in roles and contributions, suggesting that the case would be more appropriate if split/separated into case files, is unfounded and must be rejected,” Wasinton stated during the reading of the response to the defendants’ exception at the Military Court II-08 in Cakung, East Jakarta, on Wednesday.

The defendants—Serka MN (defendant 1), Kopda FH (defendant 2), and Serka FY (defendant 3)—are charged with involvement in the kidnapping accompanied by the murder of MIP.

In his response, Wasinton assessed that the objection regarding the request for separation of case files (splitting) lacks legal basis and actually contradicts the interests of proof.

In criminal procedure practice, Wasinton explained, the separation of case files or splitting is a discretionary authority of the public prosecutor, carried out solely for the interests of proof when necessary.

“Splitting is not a right of the defendant or their legal counsel. Therefore, the failure to separate case files cannot be used as a reason to weaken the indictment,” Wasinton clarified.

In this case, the Military Prosecutor believes that the proof process can be carried out optimally without the need for separation of case files.

This means that all elements of the charged criminal offence can still be proven intact in a single case file.

Furthermore, he emphasised that there is no legal provision requiring cases with more than one defendant to be separated.

Thus, the legal counsel’s argument that the failure to split renders the indictment legally defective is deemed inappropriate.

Wasinton also explained that combining the case into one file provides significant benefits in the judicial process, namely facilitating the proof of connections between the defendants’ actions, so that the chain of criminal events can be seen in full and comprehensively.

Additionally, combining the cases is seen as able to avoid the potential for conflicting decisions if the cases are examined separately.

This is considered important to maintain consistency and legal certainty.

“Combining the defendants’ cases into one case file is also in line with the principles of simple, swift, and low-cost justice,” Wasinton stated.

From the proof perspective, the Military Prosecutor assured that all evidence submitted in this case remains legally valid.

This refers to the provisions of Article 172 paragraph (2) of the Republic of Indonesia Law No. 31 of 1997 on Military Justice, which stipulates that the evidence meets the minimum proof threshold required.

With the fulfilment of these proof requirements, according to the Military Prosecutor, there is no urgency to separate the cases.

Therefore, they request the panel of judges to reject all exceptions submitted.

Wasinton also expressed appreciation to the panel of judges for the opportunity to respond to the exception, as well as to the defendants’ legal counsel for presenting their arguments.

According to him, the entire process is part of a joint effort to seek material truth in the ongoing case.

Previously, the legal team for the defendants in the alleged kidnapping and murder case of bank branch head MIP (37) requested that the case files for the defendants be separated.

“After we examined and reviewed the contents of the Indictment Letter from Oditur Militer II-07 Jakarta No. Sdak/49/K/III/2026, in this case, it would be more appropriate if split or the case files are separated into several files,” stated the legal team led by Lieutenant Colonel Chk Nugroho Muhammad Nur at the Military Court II-08 in Cakung, East Jakarta, on Monday (13/4).

He assessed that combining the cases into one file does not reflect a sense of justice and legal certainty, given the significant differences in the roles and contributions of each defendant in the case.

“The differences in the defendants’ roles are very significant, so combining the cases actually does not reflect certainty and a sense of justice,” Nugroho explained.