Prosecutor's Rebuttal in Batam Court: Crew Member Fandi Still Faces Death Penalty

The public prosecutor in the Batam District Court has insisted on the death penalty for Fandi, a crew member in the ongoing trial concerning the smuggling of two tons of methamphetamine.

The prosecutor stated this during the rebuttal, responding to the defense presented by Fandi Ramadhan, the crew member accused of smuggling two tons of methamphetamine in Batam.

The prosecutor affirmed that the demand for the death penalty against Fandi Ramadhan remains unchanged, as previously stated during the sentencing hearing.

“We stand by the charges we have filed,” said prosecutor Muhammad Arfian at the Batam District Court, as quoted by detikSumut.

In the rebuttal, the prosecutor also rejected all arguments made by the defense, which claimed that the defendant was unaware of the narcotics on board the Sea Dragon tanker, which was attempting to smuggle the drugs into Indonesia last year.

The prosecutor argued that the evidence presented during the trial actually showed the defendant’s involvement in the transportation of the illegal goods.

The methamphetamine, weighing a total of approximately 1.9 tons, was discovered after the ship was intercepted by a joint team from the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), Customs, and the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL), and then taken to the Customs dock in Tanjunguncang, Batam.

During the search, officers found dozens of boxes containing methamphetamine hidden in the bow and fuel tanks of the ship.

The prosecutor emphasized that drug-related crimes are extraordinary crimes that have a significant impact on the nation’s future generations. Therefore, the handling of these cases must be firm and should not be influenced by public pressure.

Meanwhile, Fandi Ramadhan’s legal counsel rejected all the points made in the prosecutor’s rebuttal. The defense counsel stated that they would continue to stand by the arguments presented in their defense.

“After carefully considering the prosecutor’s response to the defense, we, as legal counsel, reject all of the prosecutor’s responses,” they said.

The trial will continue with the verdict scheduled for Thursday, March 5.

The prosecutor also rejected any intervention from the DPR (the Indonesian House of Representatives) in the case.

“To community leaders, celebrities, members of the DPR, or anyone else, let us not interfere with the enforcement of the law,” said the prosecutor.

During the trial, the prosecutor emphasized that the panel of judges must decide the case purely based on the evidence presented, and not because of any intervention from any party.

“Let the panel of judges decide this case fairly, based on the facts presented in court, and not because of opinions or pressure from the public,” the prosecutor said during the rebuttal.

“In essence, we are saying that the defendant knew from the beginning that he was recruited by an illegal crew service to work on the Sea Dragon, a tanker that was supposed to carry oil, but he knew that it would later be used to transport 67 boxes containing approximately 1.9 tons of methamphetamine,” said Diah when confirmed by CNNIndonesia.com on Friday, February 20.

Fandi was previously sentenced to death on February 5 after the discovery of approximately two tons of methamphetamine on the ship he worked on.

In the primary indictment, the prosecutor stated that the drug trafficking was carried out by Fandi along with several other people, namely Hasiholan Samosir, Leo Chandra Samosir, Richard Halomoan Tambunan, Teerapong Lekpradub, and Weerapat Phongwan, also known as Mr. Phong. The prosecution of each defendant was carried out separately.

Meanwhile, another perpetrator, Mr. Tan, also known as Jacky Tan, is on the wanted list.