Medan –
The panel of judges at the Medan District Court sentenced defendant David Chandra to 12 years and 6 months in prison. David Chandra was proven to have committed assault against his girlfriend, Lina, resulting in her death.
“Sentencing the defendant David Chandra to 12 years and 6 months in prison,” said the panel of judges led by Eliyurita in room Cakra 8 of the Medan District Court on Thursday (June 4, 2026).
According to the judge, the defendant fulfilled the elements of the crime of murder as regulated and threatened under Article 458 of the Criminal Code, Law No. 1 of 2023 concerning the new Criminal Code.
The sentence handed down by the judge was not far from the prosecutor’s demand. Previously, the prosecutor demanded a 13-year prison sentence for defendant David Chandra.
After hearing the verdict, the presiding judge, Eliyurita, gave the defendant and the prosecutor seven days to consider an appeal.
Meanwhile, according to the indictment, the case began on Saturday (August 23, 2025) at around 9:00 AM local time, when David was having breakfast at his home. After that, David consumed alcohol while sitting next to Lina.
Suddenly, David and Lina got into an argument. The victim was known to have thrown a beer bottle towards the bedroom door, causing it to shatter.
Then, that same afternoon at around 1:00 PM local time, Lina consumed methamphetamine and ecstasy pills. Seeing this, David warned Lina not to consume those illegal substances.
Later, at around 8:00 PM local time, David asked Lina about the whereabouts of the meth she had consumed. The two argued again, as Lina did not reveal where she had hidden the meth.
This made David angry, and he grabbed a green bottle from Lina’s hand. He then used the bottle to repeatedly hit Lina’s arm while asking where the meth was hidden.
Lina lied to David several times about the location of the meth. Initially, Lina said the meth was under the bed, but when David searched, he did not find it.
As a result, David became angry and hit the victim again. Lina then said the meth was under the pillowcase, but when David searched, he again did not find it.
Consequently, David brutally beat Lina’s body, arms, and legs with a beer bottle, causing Lina to cry in pain.
Afterwards, David and Lina lay down on the mattress. David saw that Lina was already covered in blood and was shocked.
Lina asked David for help to take her to the bathroom because she could no longer stand due to her body being full of wounds and blood coming from her legs.
Upon arriving at the bathroom, Lina fell, and David tried to lift her. However, the victim was already weak due to significant blood loss.
David then asked witness Jhon Roy Marpaung to help lift Lina. At around 9:14 PM local time, Jhon came and was asked to help lift Lina into the car to be taken to Columbia Asia Hospital.
At around 10:00 PM local time, the hospital declared Lina dead. Then, at around 11:00 PM local time, police arrived at the hospital and immediately arrested David.
