Amir Syamsuddin quits battle to defend Oki<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Lawyers from the Amir Syamsuddin & Partners
\nannounced on Saturday that they were no longer defending Harnoko
\nDewantono, alias Oki, the main suspect in a triple murder in Los
\nAngeles.<\/p>\n
Amir Syamsuddin said in a statement made available to The
\nJakarta Post that their withdrawal was due to the unfavorable
\nattitude shown by Oki's father, Hendarno Hendarmin.<\/p>\n
"In the three months of our service as Oki's lawyers we have
\nbeen faced with a lot of problems. One particular problem came
\nfrom Oki's father, who was not pleased with our roles as his
\nson's lawyers," Amir said.<\/p>\n
Giving no information, Amir said both his party and his client
\nhad expected Hendarno to change his mind when he saw how the
\ncompany was doing.<\/p>\n
"Our efforts apparently didn't change Hendarno's attitude," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Therefore, after a series of talks, including those with Oki,
\n"we decided to withdraw as Oki's lawyers," Amir said.<\/p>\n
Amir and his colleagues said, however, that they are still
\ninterested in defending Oki.<\/p>\n
It is strongly believed that the 30-year-old suspect will now
\nbe defended by lawyers from Ruhut Sitompoel, Tommy Sihotang &
\nAssociates. Oki's father likes them.<\/p>\n
Contacted by The Jakarta Post on Saturday, Ruhut commented:
\n"I'm not surprised with the withdrawal of Amir because I am the
\nlegal lawyer of Oki since the beginning.<\/p>\n
"The only difference between me and him is that I was asked by
\nOki to defend him, while Amir asked Oki to appoint him as his
\nlawyer," Ruhut said.<\/p>\n
According to Amir, their withdrawal was sent to the suspect,
\nwho is currently being kept at the Cipinang Correctional
\nInstitution in East Jakarta, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Oki had been one of the most wanted persons in Los Angeles,
\nthe United States, for his alleged role in the killing of an
\nIndonesian female, his brother and an Indian businessman.<\/p>\n
The young suspect is strongly believed to have tortured and
\nshot the Indian businessman, Suresh Mirchandani, to death in
\nAugust 1991. Then he battered to death Gina Sutan Aswar, the
\nyoung Indonesian woman, as well as Tri (Eri) Harto Darmawan, his
\nyounger brother, in November 1992.<\/p>\n
After being hidden at separate places, the bodies of the three
\nvictims were kept together in a storage locker since May 1993
\nbefore being found by the Los Angeles police in August last year.<\/p>\n
Oki was apprehended in Indonesia early this year for alleged
\npassport forgery and was later questioned about the murders.<\/p>\n
The dossiers on Oki's alleged role in falsifying passports
\nwill be tried at the South Jakarta district court on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the murder dossiers have yet to be completed
\nbecause Indonesian police claim that they are still waiting for
\nadditional information on new evidence found earlier last week by
\nLos Angeles police detectives.<\/p>\n
A lack of material evidence, as required by Indonesian law, is
\nalso hindering the case because some key evidence is still being
\nheld by the Los Angeles police.<\/p>\n
American police have reportedly found a car related to the
\ntriple murder case.<\/p>\n
Deputy Chief of National Police for Operational Affairs Maj.
\nGen. Koesparmono Irsan said on Thursday it isn't yet clear
\nwhether the car was used by Oki or one of the three murder
\nvictims.<\/p>\n
"But the car constitutes new evidence in the case,"
\nKoesparmono said. (bsr)<\/p>",
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