Indonesia's Richest Police, Teddy Minahasa, Faces Death Penalty for Selling Drugs

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - Former high-ranking police officer Teddy Minahasa is facing the death penalty after being found guilty of selling drugs. Teddy Minahasa was arrested in October last year.

The wealth of Teddy Minahasa was even exceeding the chief national police of Indonesia. The former inspector general reportedly amassed nearly Rp30 billion in wealth and collected luxurious vehicles.

He was found selling drugs which were confiscated by the police, and then replaced the drugs with alum. Three other subordinates, including one woman, were also involved.

The prosecutor found nothing in the trial that could alleviate his punishment, especially as Teddy Minahasa expressed neither remorse nor guilt during his trial in West Jakarta court. His confidence paved the way for him to the death sentence.

"The defendant did not admit his actions. The defendant denied his actions and was long-winded when providing explanations," said prosecutor.

Furthermore, the prosecutor said Teddy was exploiting his role to sell drugs. His actions are also injuring the good name of the Indonesian Police. When he was caught, Teddy was the police chief of East Java Province, although he committed the crimes during his tenure as the police chief of West Sumatra Province.

Teddy Minahasa's lawyer, Hotman Paris Hutapea, protested the trial. He said the court failed to provide full contents of the evidence from Teddy's WhatsApp messages. Hotman is certain the prosecutor's decision could be annulled.

Legal expert from Jenderal Soedirman University, Hibnu Nugroho, approves the death penalty for Teddy Minahasa. He cites Teddy's high-ranking and failure to ensure the investigation went smoothly.

Hibnu also points out that nearly 70% of inmates in Indonesia are related to drugs cases.

"Teddy is unable to give good example to the other police," said Hibnu.

Even though there are calls to abolish death penalty, Hibnu argues there is a different perspective in law enforcement and human rights.

"From law's point-of-view, hopefully the death penalty can create deterrent effect with the other potential wrong-doers so they will not play with drugs, especially if they are law enforcers," he said.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General Office has recognized that Teddy Minahasa was the "intellectual leader" of this case. The AG Office thus supports the harsher punishment for Teddy compared to the other culprits.