Gina family wants Oki tried in U.S.<\/p>\n
By K. Basrie<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The family of the late Gina Sutan Aswar urged
\nthe police to hand Harnoko Dewantono, alias Oki, over to the
\nUnited States to face the charge that he murdered their daughter.<\/p>\n
\"The entire family here demands that he be questioned and
\ntried in the United States, because that is the where the crime
\nalleged took place -- in Los Angeles,\" a member of the family,
\nwho requested anonymity, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"We can't understand why the authorities here are refusing to
\nsend the suspect back to the United States,\" she said, and added:
\n\"How could they decide to try him in an Indonesian court if the
\ncrime alleged occurred in Los Angeles.\"<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles police already know the details of the case
\nand for this, and other practical reasons, it would be easier if
\nthe defendant were tried there, she said.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police Chief Maj. Gen. Mochammad Hindarto has said
\nthat he has no plans to send Oki, who is wanted by the Los
\nAngeles Police Department in connection with Gina's murder, to
\nthe United States, because the two countries have no extradition
\ntreaty.<\/p>\n
Hindarto has insisted that if Oki should be tried for the
\nalleged murder, he will have to be tried in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Oki, 30 years old, is currently being held by Jakarta police
\non charges relating to the forgery of a passport. He was arrested
\nat his grandparents' house in Jakarta last Saturday.<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Police Department has issued a warrant for the
\narrest of Oki whom they say is the main suspect in their
\ninvestigation of the murder of Gina, Oki's own brother Eri Tri
\nHarto Darmawan, and Surish Michandani, a Los Angeles laundry
\nbusinessman of Indian origins. Their decomposed bodies were found
\nin a storage locker in Los Angeles last August. Police only
\nmanaged to identify the bodies in December.<\/p>\n
Although Oki was being investigated in connection with the
\npassport forgery allegations, Oki had told his interrogators that
\nhe had had no part in the Los Angeles triple murder, police
\nsources said.<\/p>\n
The Attorney General's Office has confirmed that the criminal
\ncode permits an Indonesian court to prosecute its own citizens
\nfor crimes committed in other countries.<\/p>\n
If police chose to proceed under that provision then Oki would
\nbe tried in the Central Jakarta Court, the Attorney General's
\nacting spokesman Chairul said.<\/p>\n
Tisnaya I. Kartakusuma, a close relative of Gina who has also
\nbeen appointed by the family as their lawyer, reiterated the call
\nto have Oki extradited to the United States.<\/p>\n
\"It might be inefficient for him to be investigated here,\"
\nTisnaya said, because the evidence, witnesses and detectives who
\ninitially investigated the case are all in the United States.<\/p>\n
Legal experts here believe that if Oki were tried and found
\nguilty in a U.S. court, he would almost certainly receive the
\ndeath penalty. If he were to be found guilt in Indonesia he could
\nstill get the death penalty, but would more likely receive life
\nimprisonment or 20 years imprisonment.<\/p>\n
Gina and Oki attended the same high school in Jakarta. They
\nmet again in 1992 when Gina traveled to Los Angeles. The two
\nbecame business partners there after Gina invested some money
\nwhich she had raised from relatives and friends.<\/p>\n
Gina was reported missing in November 1992 and her family
\nemployed American detectives to search for her. They learned of
\nher death when Los Angeles police announced in December the
\nidentity of the three bodies found in the storage locker.<\/p>\n
Gina was the youngest of five children of Sutan Aswar, a
\nretired Air Force colonel and a former member of the House of
\nRepresentatives.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, Gina's family said that her remains would arrive at
\nJakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport today on board a Garuda
\nIndonesia flight from Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Her body would initially be brought to the family's home in
\nPolonia, East Jakarta. Gina would be buried at the Kemang Purut
\ncemetery in South Jakarta after the Friday prayer, spokesman
\nTisnaya said.<\/p>\n
Messages of condolence and sympathy have, meanwhile, been
\npouring into the family home. Flowers have also been sent to the
\nfamily, including two bouquets from Gina's former employers Arco,
\nan American oil company, and Bank Internasional Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Recent visitors to the Polonia house include senior police and
\nair force officers and noted artists.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gina-family-wants-oki-tried-in-us-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}