Colonel Priyanto Undergoes First Trial, Charged With Layered Articles With A Maximum Lifetime Criminal Threat

A number of members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) suspected of the murder of a motorbike rider prepare to board the prisoner's car after a press conference at the High Military Administration II, East Jakarta. (BETWEEN PHOTOS/Fakhri Hermansyah)

JAKARTA - TNI middle officer Colonel Infantry Priyanto has been charged with multiple layers of charges for killing two civilian teenagers in Nagreg, West Java.

Military prosecutor Colonel Sus Wirdel Boy read out the indictment during the inaugural trial opened by Chief Justice Brigadier General Faridah Faisal at the High Military Court II Jakarta, Tuesday, March 8.

After the trial, Colonel Sus Wirdel Boy said that his party would prove the elements of the primary charge in Article 340 of the Criminal Code.

"Later, we will prove the article on premeditated murder first, and then later on the article on joint murder," he said in Jakarta, as reported by Antara.

The Military Prosecutor, who is the public prosecutor at the military trial, charged Priyanto with Article 340 of the Criminal Code, Article 338 of the Criminal Code, Article 333 of the Criminal Code, and Article 181 of the Criminal Code.

Article 340 of the Criminal Code regulates the criminal punishment of premeditated murder with a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment.

Furthermore, Article 338 of the Criminal Code also regulates the crime of murder, which is interpreted as an act of deliberately taking another person's life, with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Then, Article 328 of the Criminal Code regulates the crime of kidnapping with a maximum penalty of 12 years and Article 333 of the Criminal Code regulates the criminal deprivation of the freedom of others with a penalty of eight to nine years in prison.

Finally, Article 181 of the Criminal Code related to the crime of eliminating a corpse with the intention of hiding someone's death, which carries a maximum penalty of nine months.

Colonel Priyanto attended the trial at the Jakarta High Military Court II alone, while the other two perpetrators, Corporal Two (Kopda) Andreas Dwi Atmoko and Corporal One (Koptu) A Sholeh, underwent trial in two different courts.

The trial of three TNI soldiers, who were the perpetrators of the murder of two teenagers in Nagreg on December 8, 2021, was held separately because the case files were different.

Colonel Priyanto is undergoing trial at the High Military Court II, Jakarta, because he is still a middle-ranking TNI officer.

Military prosecutor Colonel Wirdel told the media that the next hearing was rescheduled for next week.

"Next week we will divide the examination of witnesses, because there are 19 witnesses. Perhaps, we will first call six or seven witnesses, especially the two corporals, and those who were at the scene of the accident," he said.

In addition, the Military Prosecutor also plans to present the doctor, who performed the autopsy and post-mortem on the two victims' bodies, as expert witnesses at the trial.