Court opens trial of Oki on forgery charges<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Harnoko Dewantono, known as Oki and the prime
\nsuspect in a Los Angeles triple murder, was arraigned yesterday
\nat South Jakarta District Court for falsifying two Indonesian
\npassports.<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Abdul Muis Gassing told presiding judge Doris A.A.
\nTaulo that Oki, 30, a former employee at a Jakarta leasing
\ncompany PT Perdana Multi Finance, falsified and repeatedly used
\ntwo fake passports.<\/p>\n
One of the passports had a fake name and the other one had a
\nphoto of him bearing the name of his younger brother, Tri (Eri)
\nHarto Darmawan, one of the L.A. murder victims.<\/p>\n
According to Muis, Oki obtained the first passport in July
\n1991 from the South Jakarta immigration office by using the name
\nof Oki Harnoko.<\/p>\n
With the passport, valid until 1997, Oki left for the United
\nStates in October 1992, and arrived back in February 1993,
\nthrough Soekarno-Hatta international airport.<\/p>\n
In June 1993, Oki managed to get another passport for his late
\nbrother at the Indonesian consulate in Chicago, valid for two
\nyears, the prosecutor said.<\/p>\n
He then used the two-year passport to enter Indonesia the
\nfollowing month through the Polonia airport in Medan, North
\nSumatra.<\/p>\n
A few weeks later, he used the same document to go to Malaysia
\nvia Soekarno-Hatta airport and arrived back a week later through
\nPolonia airport, Muis added.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor accused Oki of violating two rules of the
\nCriminal Code and three others of the Immigration Law's Article
\n55.<\/p>\n
He charged that Oki used various documents concomitantly and
\nthat were falsified through illegal means, charges based on
\nArticles 263 and 270 of the Criminal Code.<\/p>\n
The first article carries a maximum penalty of six years
\nimprisonment, while the second one carries two years and eight
\nmonths.<\/p>\n
Muis also accused the suspect of using fake passports,
\nfalsifying his passport application and possessing more than one
\nvalid passport, violations stipulated in items a, b and c in
\nArticle 55 of the Immigration Law Number 2 issued in 1992.<\/p>\n
When asked to comment on the prosecutor's charges, Oki
\nreplied: \"I understand all the contents but let my lawyers defend
\nme, Your Honor.\"<\/p>\n
Oki's lawyers from the Ruhut Sitompoel, Tommy Sihotang &
\nAssociates law office asked the judge for two weeks to prepare
\ntheir response to the prosecution.<\/p>\n
Worrying that the suspect might spend too much time in custody
\nat the Cipinang penitentiary, Judge Doris agreed to a week
\nintermission. The trial, which lasted only 45 minutes, was
\nadjourned until next Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Yesterday's trial attracted far fewer visitors than expected
\nand consisted mostly of reporters and security officers.<\/p>\n
Oki was arrested in Central Jakarta on Jan. 7 for passport
\nforgery but later was charged for his alleged role in the killing
\nof his female business partner Gina Sutan Aswar, his brother,
\nEri, and his Indian business partner Suresh Mirchandani.<\/p>\n
The three decaying corpses, believed to have been killed
\nseparately in 1991 and 1992 in Los Angeles, the United States,
\nwere found together in a storage locker and identified late last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Since then he has been on the Los Angeles police's wanted list
\nas the main suspect in the killing.<\/p>\n
City police say they are still trying to bring the murder case
\nto court. (bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/court-opens-trial-of-oki-on-forgery-charges-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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