KEMAT, DEVID, SUGIK

Trio wrongfully tried for murder

In 2008, a decomposing corpse was found in a sugarcane field near Jombang in East Java. Police could not identify the body, but one man assumed it was his missing brother, Asrori. Police then arrested three men – Devid Eko Priyanto, Imam ‘Kemat’ Chambali and Maman ‘Sugik’ Sugianto – and tortured them into confessing to the murder of Asrori. Despite the absence of any forensic investigation, Jombang District Court on May 8, 2008, sentenced Kemat to 17 years in jail and Devid to 12 years. Sugik was still on trial when police arrested a serial killer, Very Idham Heryansyah, better known as Ryan. He confessed that Asrori was his 11th victim and was buried in his parent’s backyard. The corpse in the sugarcane field turned out to be that of Fauzin Suyanto. DNA tests proved the trio were not the killers. The Supreme Court in December 2008 acquitted Kemat and Devid, while Sugik’s trial was terminated.