Three Masterminds in Bank Manager's Kidnap-Murder Sentenced to 10-13 Years

Three intellectual actors in the alleged kidnapping and murder of a bank branch manager, M Ilham Pradipta, have been sentenced to between 10 and 13 years in prison. The presiding judge at the East Jakarta District Court ruled on Monday that the defendants were proven guilty of jointly participating in the act of taking the victim’s life.

“We declare that defendant I, Candy alias Ken, and defendant II, Dwi Hartono, have been legally and convincingly proven guilty of committing the crime of jointly participating in the deprivation of another person’s life,” stated Chief Judge Juandra during the verdict reading. Candy alias Ken and Dwi Hartono each received a 13-year prison sentence, while the third intellectual actor, Antonius Aditia Maharjuni, was sentenced to 10 years.

The court also ordered Ken and Dwi Hartono to pay restitution of IDR 1.2 billion, with a subsidiary sentence of two years imprisonment if the payment is not made within 30 days of the final ruling. Antonius Aditia was ordered to pay IDR 750 million in restitution, with a subsidiary sentence of one year and three months.

Previously, the three intellectual actors had faced a prosecutor’s demand of 15 years imprisonment and restitution of IDR 1 billion, with a subsidiary sentence of 30 months. In a separate hearing, another defendant, Erasmus Wawo alias Eras, was sentenced to nine years in prison and ordered to pay IDR 100 million in restitution, with a subsidiary sentence of two months.

The murder was linked to a scheme to steal IDR 455 billion from dormant accounts at the bank. The victim, Ilham Pradipta, was kidnapped and tortured to death by the perpetrators. A total of 18 defendants are involved in the case, including three military personnel who were tried separately. The 15 civilian defendants were tried at the East Jakarta District Court.