Death Sentence for Ex-Police Officer Who Killed UMM Student: End of a Career, Start of Justice?
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- Majelis Hakim PN Malang menjatuhkan pidana mati kepada Agus Muhammad Sulaeman, mantan Bripka Polri, karena membunuh mahasiswi UMM Faradilla Amalia Najwa.
- Suyitno, terdakwa kedua, divonis 20 tahun penjara setelah dinyatakan turut serta dalam aksi keji tersebut.
- Kejaksaan menyatakan pikir-pikir atas putusan, membuka peluang banding yang bisa mengubah arah akhir kasus ini.
The Malang District Court handed down a death sentence to Agus Muhammad Sulaeman, a former Chief Police Brigadier (Bripka), on Wednesday (23/9). He was found guilty of murdering Faradilla Amalia Najwa, a 23-year-old student at Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM). The verdict marks the culmination of a legal process that has gripped public attention since the victim's body was found in a river in Pasuruan Regency on Tuesday (16/12) morning.
In a closed hearing, the panel of judges led by Achmad Soberi also sentenced Suyitno, the second defendant, to 20 years in prison. Both were found to have violated Article 459 juncto Article 20 letter c of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code as well as provisions in Law No. 20 of 2025 on the Criminal Procedure Code. The striking difference lay in their roles: Agus was seen as the intellectual dader—the holder of the primary intent and the planner of the brutal murder—while Suyitno was proven to have aided the commission of the crime.
Outside the courtroom, the victim's family and several community organizations filled the court area. They followed the proceedings via monitors provided, as the hearing was held behind closed doors. Their presence underscored public pressure for the case to be resolved transparently and fairly, especially since it involved officers who should have been protecting the public.
"Defendant I Agus Muhammad Sulaeman was the holder of the primary intent to carry out the criminal act of taking another person's life, or intellectual dader, because he was proven to have murdered the victim Faradilla Amalia Najwa in a brutal manner," said presiding judge Achmad Soberi.
The Head of the General Crimes Section at the Batu City Prosecutor's Office, Budi Murwanto, said his office had not yet decided its stance on the verdict. "We state that we are considering it. Because it is a right, both for us and later for the legal counsel and the defendants," he said after the hearing. The statement opens the door to further legal action, including an appeal, which could affect the strength of the ruling at the cassation level.
The case has also tarnished the National Police institution. Agus was dishonorably discharged in a ceremony on 10 March 2026, along with two other members of the Probolinggo Police. The dismissal affirmed that serious violations by personnel will not be tolerated, even as the legal process must still run independently. The public now waits to see whether the death sentence will be carried out or instead be altered at the appeal level—a test for the consistency of law enforcement in Indonesia.
More urgently, the case highlights the vulnerability of students and women to violence, even when the perpetrator comes from a law enforcement institution. Going forward, the National Police's internal oversight and the courage of officers to act ethically will be key to preventing similar tragedies. Will this verdict become a firm precedent, or merely a dark note that is gradually forgotten?
