Indonesian colonel sentenced to life in jail for throwing bodies of teens into river after hitting them with car
Colonel Priyanto has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Jakarta military tribunal
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An army colonel in Indonesia was sentenced to life in prison by the country’s military tribunal for dumping the remains of two teenagers in a river after his car collided with their motorcycle in a traffic accident last year.
Judges at the Jakarta military tribunal said they considered Colonel Priyanto’s actions – which led to the deaths of the two teens aged 17 and 14 – to be premeditated murder.
The court also ordered that the armed forces dismiss the middle-rank officer from military service.
According to the autopsy, one of the victims was still alive when Priyanto had tossed their bodies into a river in Central Java province with the help of two subordinates.
Announcing the order, chief judge Brigadier General Faridah Faisal said: “As a trained soldier, the defendant used his skills to kill people in an inhumane way.”
In December last year, Prayanto’s two juniors were with him in the car when the collision took place, severely injuring 17-year-old Handi Saputra and his girlfriend Salsabila.
The court heard that when his subordinates asked for the victims to be taken to hospital, Priyanto rejected the request and shot back: “We’re soldiers. Do not be cry babies!”
The army officer admitted during the trial that he had the idea of disposing of the two bodies because he assumed the teenagers had already succumbed to their injuries and were not moving or breathing, reported the Associated Press.
This was contradicted by a number of witnesses present at the spot who said the 17-year-old was moving and groaning in pain from the injuries.
The remains of the teenagers were found three days later in two different rivers by locals.
The defendant [Priyanto] had an “intention to eliminate the victims and therefore the action amounts to premeditated murder,” said the judge.
The officer has been sentenced to life in prison for murder, joint deprivation of the liberty of others and removing the dead bodies with the intention of concealment.
The trial was held at Jakarta’s High Military Court II.
Trials for Priyanto’s subordinates are yet to conclude.
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