Prosecutor seeks five years jail for Zarina<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The prosecution has asked the West Jakarta
\nDistrict Court to sentence budding TV actress Zarina to five
\nyears jail for possessing Ecstasy.<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Rizia Djamil said Zarina, 25, violated the 1992
\nHealth Law by possessing Ecstasy but did not make or traffic the
\ndrug.<\/p>\n
She faces a maximum seven years jail or a Rp 140,000,000
\n(US$56,000) fine.<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives endorsed last year a bill on
\npsychotropic drugs that introduced the death penalty for members
\nof Ecstasy-trafficking syndicates.<\/p>\n
The bill has not yet become law.<\/p>\n
Rizia said Zarina should be jailed because she had made
\nconflicting statements and shown no remorse.<\/p>\n
She said the crime was made worse because Zarina escaped from
\nTangerang police custody and fled to Houston, Texas.<\/p>\n
Zarina was being escorted from Tangerang to Jakarta Police
\nheadquarters when she escaped.<\/p>\n
U.S. immigration officials accompanied by Jakarta police later
\narrested her in Houston.<\/p>\n
Rizia said Ecstasy was a \"very dangerous drug which could ruin
\nthe future of the younger generation\".<\/p>\n
Zarina, wearing an ivory business suit with matching shoes and
\nhandbag, showed no emotion during the session.<\/p>\n
But she almost burst into tears when mobbed by reporters who
\npushed cameras and tape recorders into her face.<\/p>\n
Her only comment was \"no comment\", as her relatives dragged
\nher away.<\/p>\n
The court was packed and some applauded when the prosecutor
\nfinished reading her sentence request.<\/p>\n
Zarina's lawyer, Amir Syamsudin, said outside the court that
\nthe sentence request was too stiff.<\/p>\n
\"This is because the prosecution did not see the juridical
\nfacts. But I think that is common in cases that create national
\nheadlines,\" Amir said.<\/p>\n
Zarina's other lawyer, Henry Yosodinigrat, said the court
\nshould find Zarina not guilty of all charges because she did not
\nknow there were Ecstasy pills in her safe.<\/p>\n
The trial was adjourned until May 19 to hear the defense's
\nrebuttals. (12)<\/p>\n
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