Defendant in Jagorawi toll case withdraws testimony<\/p>\n
BOGOR (JP): One of two defendants in the Jagorawi robbery and
\nmurder case, Erling Doly Wijaya, alias Mikel, withdrew his police
\ntestimony at yesterday's hearing.<\/p>\n
He said he had "made it up" under police pressure, fearing he
\nwould end up like another police suspect -- Cece Tajudin, 41 --
\nwho died Oct. 21, 1996, in police custody.<\/p>\n
Yesterday Mikel joined another defendant, Hendrik, in saying
\nthey planned the robbery with the late victim, Zaenuddin Lesmana,
\nwho was shot on Oct. 11, 1996.<\/p>\n
In the withdrawn testimony, Mikel had said the leader of an
\nuntitled land appropriation business group, Iedfil Jaya Anwar,
\nhad masterminded the robbery in which Zaenuddin, the group's
\ntreasurer, was killed.<\/p>\n
"I was not beaten while under police investigation," Mikel
\ntold the Bogor District Court.<\/p>\n
"But each time police said my replies were questionable they
\nwould take me out at night and say I would be terminated. One
\nnight they left me in the woods (in Bandung) for two hours," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Earlier Mikel had withdrawn a statement he made as a witness
\nfor the dossier of Iedfil, who was a former suspect.<\/p>\n
Mikel said Iedfil talked him into the robbery.<\/p>\n
Yesterday Mikel gave the same statement as Hendrik, who is
\nbeing tried separately, that he had planned the robbery with the
\nlate Zaenuddin.<\/p>\n
Hendrik said the plan went wrong because a real gun was used
\ninstead of a toy gun. The man who allegedly shot Zaenuddin,
\nBudiarto, is still at large.<\/p>\n
Zaenuddin was shot after he had taken Rp 600 million from a
\nBRI bank branch in Bogor. The money was meant for land
\nappropriation for a housing project in Jonggol, West Java. The
\nindictment said one bag containing Rp 312 million was stolen by
\nMikel and his accomplices.<\/p>\n
Mikel said 20 days before the robbery, Zaenuddin had said he
\nneeded money to cover debts and to buy a new car for his
\ngirlfriend.<\/p>\n
Mikel quoted Zaenuddin as saying, "Would it make sense if I
\npretended I was robbed?"<\/p>\n
Mikel said he replied it would be logical because Zaenuddin
\nhad frequently taken money from the bank for land appropriation.<\/p>\n
Mikel said he told Zaenuddin, "If you're serious about this
\nI'll contact other friends."<\/p>\n
He said he first knew Zaenuddin in June 1996 in a place called
\nVilla Vita at a Puncak mountain resort, where the unnamed land
\nappropriation business group met.<\/p>\n
On the day of the planned robbery, Mikel said Zaenuddin had
\ntelephoned him from a Padang restaurant, saying he had separated
\na bag of money for Mikel and his accomplices, and another bag for
\nhimself.<\/p>\n
Mikel said at the site of the robbery he saw Zaenuddin's
\nHyundai sedan parked off the toll road, where he saw Zaenuddin's
\nlimp body in one of the open doors.<\/p>\n
"I thought it was an act," Mikel said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile the businessman implicated in the murder and
\nrobbery, Iedfil, was arrested by police last Monday on charges of
\ninvolvement in car thefts.<\/p>\n
Through his lawyers, Iedfil demanded that the arresting police
\nofficers be brought to court, because he claimed the arrest
\nviolated procedures.<\/p>\n
Yesterday the pretrial hearing concluded with the judge
\nrejecting Iedfil's demands. His lawyer, M. Sholeh Amin, said he
\naccepted the court's decision. (24\/anr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/defendant-in-jagorawi-toll-case-withdraws-testimony-1447893297",
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