Sea Dragon Crew Case: Parliament Reminds That Death Penalty Is Now an Alternative Sentence

Commission III member of the House of Representatives (DPR), Nasir Djamil, has reminded the public that the death penalty is now classified as an alternative sentence rather than a principal one under the new Criminal Code (KUHP), which came into effect on 2 January 2026.

Nasir made the remarks in response to the death penalty demand against Sea Dragon crew member (ABK) Fandi Ramadhan in the alleged smuggling case involving nearly two tonnes of methamphetamine at Batam District Court.

“The death penalty in the National Criminal Code is positioned as an alternative sentence, not a principal one,” Nasir said when contacted on Tuesday (24 February).

This means the death penalty can only be applied under strict conditions. Under the Criminal Code, a death sentence must be handed down by a judge alongside a 10-year probationary prison term. During this probationary period, if the convicted person demonstrates good behaviour, the sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment.

According to Nasir, the death penalty provisions in the Criminal Code represent a middle ground between proponents and opponents of capital punishment.

“This means the application of the death penalty must be highly selective and cannot be generalised when there are multiple perpetrators, as each perpetrator plays a different role,” he said.

Nasir expressed confidence that judges would exercise caution in responding to the prosecutor’s death penalty demand against Fandi, a Sea Dragon crew member who had no defined role in the operation. The absence of a role could indicate his lack of knowledge regarding the case.

“This absence of a role could be because he had no knowledge, or even if he was involved, it must be examined whether his involvement was coerced or whether he consciously followed instructions,” said the PKS politician.

Fandi, the crew member who also faces the death penalty demand, attended a further hearing in the case. In today’s plea hearing, his legal counsel stated that Fandi was merely a victim of a narcotics syndicate and had no knowledge of the 67 boxes of methamphetamine being transported by the tanker Sea Dragon before it was intercepted by a joint security operation in Riau Islands waters.

Fandi was handed the death penalty demand on 5 February following the discovery of approximately two tonnes of methamphetamine on the vessel where he worked.

In the primary indictment, prosecutors explained that the narcotics distribution was carried out by Fandi together with several others, namely Hasiholan Samosir, Leo Chandra Samosir, Richard Halomoan Tambunan, Teerapong Lekpradub, and Weerapat Phongwan alias Mr Phong. Each defendant is being prosecuted separately.

Meanwhile, another suspect, Mr Tan alias Jacky Tan, remains on the wanted persons list.