Oki denies police findings in triple murder probe<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Over the past few days, Harnoko Dewantono, alias
\nOki, the suspect in the Los Angeles triple murder case, has
\ngranted media reporters a series of interviews at an unidentified
\nplace.<\/p>\n
During the interviews, the 30-year-old man denied the findings
\ncompiled by detectives from both the city police here and the Los
\nAngeles Police Department (LAPD) in the United States.<\/p>\n
He repeatedly denied any role in the killing of the first two
\nvictims but admitted murdering his own brother, Tri (Eri) Harto
\nDarmawan.<\/p>\n
Speaking fluent English in an interview with The Jakarta Post
\nyesterday, Oki -- once again -- revealed his version.<\/p>\n
He claims to have been beaten in the head and mentally
\ntortured by police investigators during the questioning process
\nat City Police headquarters.<\/p>\n
When contacted yesterday, City Police spokesman Lt. Col.
\nBambang Haryoko replied: \"So what kind of treatment should we
\ngive a suspected murderer of three?\"<\/p>\n
\"He can say anything he wants but let the judges decide,\"
\nBambang added.<\/p>\n
Today, he is being detained at the Cipinang penitentiary in
\nEast Jakarta.<\/p>\n
According to Oki, the basic reason for the interviews was to
\ncounter earlier reports about him and his case, which he said had
\nput him in a negative public light.<\/p>\n
\"My point is to let people know what's really going on and
\nwhat I really am,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not as the police say. I'm not a cold-blooded murder. I
\ndid it only to defend myself,\" he claimed.<\/p>\n
\"What Eri did was not my responsibility and Eri didn't even
\ntell me what to do, but my situation is I have to protect my
\nbrother,\" he continued.<\/p>\n
\"I had no other choice. I didn't want to go to the cop and say
\nthat my brother had just killed two people. But my stupidity was
\nI helped him wrap the bodies of the victims,\" he argued.<\/p>\n
He hoped that his recent interviews could help tell the public
\nabout the 'real' story of the murder. The media, he said, has
\ncreated such a story and brought in the names of his relatives
\nand girlfriends who have nothing to do with the killing.<\/p>\n
Oki, whose last job was at a leasing company here, spent many
\nyears in America. He said he studied at several colleges in
\naddition to his business activities.<\/p>\n
The LAPD detectives listed him as a wanted suspect after
\nfinding and identifying three decomposed bodies in a storage
\nlocker in Los Angeles late last year.<\/p>\n
He was apprehended here on Jan. 7 for alleged passport forgery
\nand was later questioned about and accused for his alleged role
\nin the triple murder of Suresh Mirchandani, an Indian, Gina Sutan
\nAswar, an Indonesian woman, and Eri.<\/p>\n
Accompanied by lawyers from Ruhut Sitompoel, Tommy Sihotang &
\nAssociates, his passport forgery case is currently being tried at
\nthe South Jakarta district court.<\/p>\n
Police said that the motive of the killing was purely
\nbusiness.<\/p>\n
Both Jakarta and Los Angeles police detectives agree that Oki
\nis the main suspect in the triple murder.<\/p>\n
A copy of the police findings seen by the Post said that
\nSuresh was tortured and shot to death in August 1991 and Gina was
\nbattered to death on Nov. 2, 1992, while Eri was beaten viciously
\nseveral days after Gina's death.<\/p>\n
The killing of Suresh allegedly took place a few days after
\nwhen Oki failed to reach an agreement on the purchase of Oki's
\nlaundry business. Further police findings on how Gina and Eri
\nwere killed were not available.<\/p>\n
The decomposing bodies of the three victims were kept in U-
\nHaul storage locker No. 109 in Northridge, Los Angeles, since
\nMay, 1993, before being found by the warehouse owner in August
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
Photos made by the Los Angeles police showed the bodies of
\nGina and Eri completely clothed, while Suresh's body was clad
\nonly in underwear and socks.<\/p>\n
All the three bodies showed severe wounds, especially to the
\nheads.<\/p>\n
One of Gina's ears was missing, while Suresh's lungs, heart
\nand part of his abdomen and skeleton were missing.<\/p>\n
When asked for confirmation, Oki simply replied: \"Do they have
\nthe facts? There were no witnesses there.\"<\/p>\n
According to him, the police are accusing him of being the
\nsingle suspect because his fingerprints and much were found.<\/p>\n
\"But what about Solihin's fingerprints? What about Eri's
\nfingerprints? What about Mardi's fingerprints? What about Anggi's
\nfingerprints?\" he asked.<\/p>\n
Solihin was the maid of Oki's ex-girlfriend Ipunk, while Mardi
\nwas the driver of his ex-wife, Anggi.<\/p>\n
The police did not say if the three have been questioned.<\/p>\n
\"The LAPD detectives even told me that they found hundreds of
\nfingerprints,\" Oki added. (bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/oki-denies-police-findings-in-triple-murder-probe-1447893297",
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