TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Although a defendant has said that Corporal Herman was involved in the murder of Rico Sempurna, he remains free. Underlining the impunity of the military.
CORPORAL First Class Herman Bukit really does seem to be as impervious as a hill (bukit). Although witnesses have said he was involved in the murder of Rico Sempurna Pasaribu and members of his family, the military police have not punished him. It is unclear what has happened with the investigation into the former member of Infantry Battalion 125/Simbisa in Kabanjahe, Karo Regency, North Sumatra.
The home of Rico, a Tribrata TV journalist, was torched by a group of people on June 27, 2024. Rico, who was trapped inside the house along with his wife, child, and grandchild, died at the scene. The fact-finding team established by the Journalist Safety Commission concluded that the arson was linked with Rico’s reports on a gambling den in Karo. Rico wrote that Herman Bukit was the owner of this gambling den.
But unlike Herman, Bebas Ginting, alias Bulang, is no longer free. The judges imprisoned him for life because he admitted that Herman asked him to “meet” with Rico on that tragic night. Four other witnesses testified that Bulang was Rico’s right-hand man. Strangely, the military police said that they do not have any evidence of a link or any involvement of Herman Bukit with Bulang in these murders.
This kind of judicial proceeding makes it increasingly clear that the military police have a conflict of interest between protecting fellow military personnel and investigating soldiers who commit crimes. Non-military witnesses and defendants in this case were investigated by the police and were tried in civilian courts. Meanwhile, Cpl. Herman Bukit, if he is a suspect in these murders, will be tried in a military court.
This special treatment for the military underlines the impunity for soldiers who commit crimes. The Military Court Law still excludes military personnel from being tried in civil courts, even if they commit crimes outside their official duties. But the military police actually can hand over military criminals to the civil courts if their crimes were unrelated to matters of defense.
Murdering a journalist who wrote about an illegal business, along with his family, is clearly a serious criminal act completely unrelated to national defense. The reluctance to investigate soldiers who commit crimes only increases suspicions that the gambling proceeds Herman earned were passed on to many levels within the Indonesian Military (TNI). As well as in Karo, the ill-gotten gains could have gone to the TNI elite in Jakarta.
Therefore, in order to prevent public suspicions growing and damaging the institution of the TNI, the military police should follow up on the testimony of the defendants regarding the role of Herman Bukit as the mastermind of the murders and the gambling. The TNI could hand over the investigation to the Police and Attorney General’s Office (AGO), and Herman could be put on trial to account for his actions.
And the judges should also not stop at the people on the ground. The AGO could also ask the judges to summons witnesses suspected of involvement in the murder of Rico Sempurna. And hopefully, they will also be able to uncover the details of the gambling business in Karo.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak once said that he would not protect military personnel who did wrong. A transparent legal process against Herman will prove that this statement was not simply empty words. It will also prove that Cpl. Herman Bukit is not even more above the law than generals.
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