Adiguna rejects allegations<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Businessman Adiguna Sutowo, the only suspect for the murder of
\nHilton Hotel barman Johannes Berchmans Herudy Natong, denied any
\nrole in his killing on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"I did not shoot Rudy,\" he said during his trial at the
\nCentral Jakarta District Court on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Several key witnesses had told the court earlier that they saw
\nAdiguna, the youngest brother of Hilton co-owner Ponco Sutowo,
\nshoot and kill Johannes, nicknamed Rudy, with a .22-caliber
\nrevolver in the Hilton's Fluid Bar on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n
Adiguna also denied ever owning a silver Smith And Wesson
\nairlite pistol, which key witness Werner \"Wewen\" Saferna handed
\nover to police authorities days after the shooting, arguing that
\nhis weapon of choice was a black colt handgun.<\/p>\n
\"At the time I was arrested, the gun's license had already
\nexpired. I guess that's why police kept on asking me about
\nillegal gun possession. But, they didn't ask me anything about
\nthe murder,\" said the 46-year-old man.<\/p>\n
He also told the panel of three judges, presided by Lilik
\nMuryadi, that he had no idea where the 19 bullets taken from his
\nhotel room came from.<\/p>\n
Adiguna, who earlier claimed he had handled firearms since
\nhigh school, said he had heard the sound of an explosion while he
\nwas in the bar but could not recognize whether it was a gun or a
\nballoon bursting.<\/p>\n
When asked by judges about the bloodstains on hotel towels of
\nRoom 1564, where he was staying on New Year's Eve, he said that
\nit came from a nosebleed he had suffered.<\/p>\n
\"On New Year's Eve, my nose was bleeding since dinner, so I
\nused the towels to wipe the blood running down my nose,\" he said,
\nadding that he used them when he returned to his room early
\nmorning of Jan. 1 after searching for his son in the Fluid Bar
\nand Lounge at the Hilton Hotel.<\/p>\n
Adiguna, however, admitted that he sat on the counter of the
\nbar for about five minutes, but denied he saw anyone getting
\nhurt.<\/p>\n
\"Eighty percent of my focus was on finding my kid, that's why
\nI sat on the counter to find higher place to see my son among the
\ncrowd. I didn't notice anyone else around the counter,\" he told
\nchief prosecutor Andi Herman.<\/p>\n
However, Adiguna then gave conflicting statements about how he
\nhelped carry the victim to the hotel clinic. When asked by judge
\nAgus Subroto, he first said that he had never touched Rudy's
\nbody. He had only told a group of people who were carrying Rudy
\nto go to the hotel clinic instead of calling an ambulance, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
But, when asked by another judge, Mulyani, he said that he
\nheld Rudy's leg, when he helped carry the victim toward the
\nhotel's clinic along with other people he did not recognize.<\/p>\n
\"Yes, I held his leg but not in the way that I actually
\ncarried him. It was because I wanted to show that I was actively
\nhelping a wounded man. When they arrived in front of the clinic,
\nI left them and went straight to my room,\" he said.<\/p>\n
When confronted with witnesses testimonies saying that he
\nhelped carry Rudy by holding the victim's neck, he rejected them.<\/p>\n
\"The witnesses' testimonies are not true,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Chief prosecutor Andi Herman said his team was optimistic that
\nhe could prove the crime.<\/p>\n
\"It is the defendant's right either to confirm or to deny
\nwitnesses' testimonies, but we have sufficient evidence to prove
\nthat he is guilty,\" Andi said. (006)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/adiguna-rejects-allegations-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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