Indonesia | Soldier Sentenced to Death for Killing Three Policemen in Illegal Gambling Raid

Palembang. A military court in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Monday sentenced Corporal Second Class Bazarsah to death for fatally shooting three police officers during a raid on an illegal cockfighting operation in Way Kanan, Lampung, earlier this year.

The court also ordered his dismissal from the Indonesian Army.

“The court sentences the defendant to the death penalty as the main punishment and dishonorable discharge from military service as an additional punishment,” presiding judge Colonel Fredy Ferdian Isnartanto said while reading the verdict.

Bazarsah was found guilty of killing Adjunct Commissioner Lusiyanto, First Brigadier Ghalib, and 2nd Sub-Inspector Petrus Apriyanto -- who raided an illegal cockfighting operation when they were fatally shot on March 17, 2025.

Police have argued the raid was part of the national crackdown on gambling.

In addition to murder, he was convicted of illegal possession of firearms and involvement in gambling. The court heard that he had a homemade firearm and had stolen training ammunition from his infantry unit.

“The panel notes that the defendant had previously been sanctioned for illegal firearm possession,” Fredy said.

The verdict matches the military prosecutor’s demand for a death sentence and discharge from the armed forces. Judges concluded the crime was “heinous and brutal” with no mitigating factors.

Bazarsah’s defense team has filed an appeal, with the case scheduled for review at the Medan High Military Court next week. The Palembang Military Prosecutor’s Office accepted the verdict and will not appeal.

Relatives of the victims broke down in tears upon hearing the ruling, expressing gratitude to the court. “We hope the high military court in Medan will uphold this verdict,” one family member said.

Their attorney, Putri Maya Rumanti, welcomed the decision. “The family is very satisfied with the ruling, even though the defendant is appealing. We hope it will remain unchanged,” she said.

In a related case heard at the same court, Warrant Officer Yun Herry Lubis -- the owner of the illegal cockfighting venue and also an active-duty soldier -- was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and dishonorably discharged from the military earlier in the day.

Source: jakartaglobe.id, Andika Pratama, August 11, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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