Three defendants in bank branch head murder case seek acquittal

Three defendants in a case of alleged kidnapping and murder of a bank branch head, identified as MIP (37), have asked to be acquitted from the charges previously brought by the prosecutor, through their defence counsel. The defence for Captain Chk Zulham’s client argued that the criminal elements alleged against the defendants were not proven legally and convincingly at the trial. ‘Therefore we request that the defendants be acquitted of all charges, with the costs of proceedings borne by the state,’ Zulham said as he read the plea.

For the first defendant, Corporal Mochamad Nasir, the defence team said that the Military Prosecutor’s charges under Article 338 of the KUHP read in conjunction with Article 55(1) 1 KUHP on the alleged murder, and Article 181 KUHP on the alleged hiding of a corpse, were not fulfilled. In the conclusion of the plea, the defence asked the Panel of Judges to accept all the defendants’ pleadings, reject the Military Prosecutor’s indictment II-07 Jakarta, and find that Corporal Mochamad Nasir did not commit the crime as charged.

The defence also quoted the legal principle ‘in dubio pro reo’, meaning that if there is doubt, the decision should favour the accused. In addition, the counsel quoted the saying of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) that punishing in doubt is a sin. ‘It is better to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to punish one innocent man,’ Zulham said.

Meanwhile, in the plea for the second defendant, Corporal Feri Harianto, the defence asked the Panel of Judges to dismiss the charges previously read by Military Prosecutor II-07 Jakarta on 18 May 2026. The defence considered that the defendant was not proven to have committed the offence as charged under Article 333(3) KUHP in conjunction with Article 55(1) 1 KUHP relating to alleged deprivation of liberty resulting in death. On that basis, the defence asked that Corporal Feri Harianto be acquitted of all charges.

A similar request was made for the third defendant, Serka Frengky Yaru. In his plea, the defence said the elements ‘any person’ and ‘in concert’, as charged by the Military Prosecutor, were not proven. The defence said there was no involvement by Serka Frengky Yaru in the case. They argued this was supported by the testimony of several witnesses in court, including Witnesses 9, 11, 12, as well as the testimony of the second defendant.

The defence also invoked the criminal law principle ‘actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea’, meaning a person cannot be punished without intent. ‘With the first, second and third elements not proven, the fourth element is also proven beyond a reasonable doubt,’ they said.

In their request, the defence asked the Panel of Judges to accept all pleadings of Serka Frengky Yaru, reject the Military Prosecutor II-07 Jakarta’s charges, acquit the defendants of all charges, and charge the costs to the state.

Nevertheless, throughout all pleas of the three defendants, the defence asked for a fair verdict if the Panel of Judges holds a different view of the case.

In the Military Court’s indictment reading, the first defendant, Serka Mochamad Nasir, was charged with a prison term of 12 years, reduced by time already served. The second defendant, Kopda Feri Harianto, faced a 10-year term, reduced by time served. The third defendant, Serka Frengky Yaru, faced a four-year term. In addition, the first and second defendants were also charged with dismissal from the Army’s service.