Connflicting testimonies in mark Ari's trial<\/p>\n
Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Witnesses gave conflicting testimonies during the trial of
\nformer president Soeharto's grandson Ari Haryo Wibowo (alias Ari
\nSigit) at the Central Jakarta District Court on Friday.<\/p>\n
Presiding judge Heri Suwantoro even once raised his voice to
\nwarn one of the witnesses, Ganjar Sutardi, the security guard at
\nAri's house.<\/p>\n
\"Please be firm and strict to what you think is right because
\nyour statements are far different from what you have told
\npolice,\" Heri said.<\/p>\n
Defendant Ari, wearing a light-green shirt, smiled and shook
\nhis head as judge Heri aired his warning.<\/p>\n
Ari, 31, is charged with illegal possession of firearms and
\nammunition. If found guilty, he could face the death penalty or
\nbe jailed for life.<\/p>\n
Other witnesses who were summoned to give evidence were Comr.
\nRohimat from the Jakarta Police detective unit, Aji Darmadi, the
\nsecretary of the 01 neighboring group in Menteng, and Amir, a
\nsecurity coordinator at Ari's house.<\/p>\n
Ganjar said that on Aug. 13 police officers did not produce a
\nwarrant to search Ari's house on Jl. Yusuf Adiwinata.<\/p>\n
\"I was sleeping at the other house and somebody woke me up
\ntelling me there were policemen. I went to Pak Ari's house and
\npolice were already inside the house,\" Ganjar said.<\/p>\n
According to the judge, in his statement to police, Ganjar
\nsaid he had met with the officers at the front gate and was shown
\na warrant before allowing the officers to enter.<\/p>\n
Earlier, officer Rohimat, who once told the police that he
\nfound the bullets inside a bag, told the hearing that he did not
\nsee exactly where the bullets were when they were found.<\/p>\n
When asked to comment on the conflicting statements made by
\nthe witnesses, prosecutor Surung Aritonang said, \"Maybe they
\ninterpreted what the judges asked differently so they gave
\ndifferent responses. Anyway, the questioning (with the police)
\nwas a long time ago. They could not repeat exactly the same
\nsentences.\"<\/p>\n
Surung also said the conflicting statements were not
\nsubstantial and therefore there was no need to focus on the
\nmatters.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, one of Ari's lawyers, Juan Felix Tampubolon, said
\nthey would seek support from a panel of judges to clarify the
\nconflicting matters.<\/p>",
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