Minister of Justice says Oki may face death sentence<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The prime suspect in the Los Angeles triple
\nmurder, Harnoko Dewantono, alias Oki, faces a possible death
\nsentence whether tried in local courts or in America, says
\nMinister of Justice Oetojo Oesman.<\/p>\n
The minister said that both Indonesia and the United States
\nhave the same objectives of fighting against crime and carrying
\nout justice.<\/p>\n
\"The suspect will be sentenced to death whether the murder
\ncase is tried here or there (the United States),\" Oetojo told
\nreporters after a fast-breaking gathering here on Friday evening.<\/p>\n
Oki, a 30-year-old Indonesian, is the main suspect in the
\nkilling of all three victims: Gina Sutan Aswar, an Indonesian
\nwoman, Tri (Eri) Harto Darmawan, his brother, and Suresh
\nMirchandani, an Indian businessman.<\/p>\n
Directorate General of Correctional Institutions Baharuddin
\nLopa, also present at the Friday gathering, shared Oetojo's view,
\nadding that the cost of the trial would be much cheaper if it
\ntook place near the scenes of crime.<\/p>\n
Moreover, complete evidence is already available there, Lopa
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
If the trial takes place here, the judges and prosecutors
\nwon't have enough perception concerning the scenes of crime, and
\nit would take a huge amount of money to fly them to Los Angeles
\nto witness the reconstruction of the homicides.<\/p>\n
\"It will be much easier if Oki is tried in the United States
\nas the crime scenes and original evidence are there,\" Lopa said.<\/p>\n
About two weeks ago, the U.S. government made an official
\nrequest to Indonesia for the expulsion of Oki in order to bring
\nhim to trial in an American court.<\/p>\n
Jakarta has yet to respond to the request. \"It's being
\ndiscussed,\" Oetojo said.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Jakarta police detectives have asked the
\nLos Angeles police department to hand over vital material
\nevidence to support the dossiers of the case.<\/p>\n
He said that the American request to expel Oki from Indonesia
\n\"is similar with our plea to ask for the original evidence.\"<\/p>\n
\"So, it's fifty-fifty,\" Oetojo said.<\/p>\n
After several weeks of being on Los Angeles police's wanted
\nlist in connection with the murders, Oki was apprehended on Jan.
\n7 in Central Jakarta for allegations of passport forgery and was
\ninterrogated later by both local and LA detectives for his
\nalleged role in the murders.<\/p>\n
The dossiers on the alleged role of Oki in the killings have
\nbeen completed by the Jakarta police and will be submitted to the
\nprosecutors' office immediately after Jakarta has decided the
\ntrial venue.<\/p>\n
The victims are believed to have been brutally killed in
\nseparate places between 1991 and 1992 before being found and
\nidentified late last year.<\/p>\n
The three victims were reportedly tortured and killed, with
\nmoney as the motive.<\/p>\n
Suresh was tortured and shot to death in August 1991 and Gina
\nwas battered to death on Nov. 2 1992 in a garage in Kentfield
\nBrentwood, while Eri was beaten viciously at an apartment on Palm
\nBoulevard several days after Gina's death.<\/p>\n
All three bodies had severe wounds, especially to the heads.<\/p>\n
One of Gina's ears was missing, while Suresh's fingers, lungs,
\nheart and part of his skeleton and abdomen were missing.<\/p>\n
The killing of Suresh allegedly took place a few days after he
\nand Oki failed to reach an agreement on the purchase of Oki's
\nlaundry business.<\/p>\n
The decomposing bodies of the three victims had been kept in U
\nHaul storage locker No. 109 in Northridge since May, 1993, before
\nbeing found by the warehouse owner in August last year.<\/p>\n
Previously, the bodies were hidden at separate locations.
\n(bsr\/imn)<\/p>",
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