Soldier gets 10 years for killing spree<\/p>\n
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post\/Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
A middle-ranking Navy officer, who shot dead four Army soldiers
\nhere in August and left another one critically wounded, has been
\njailed for 10 years and dishonorably discharged from the Navy, a
\nmilitary spokesman said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
A military court in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam handed down the
\nverdict for First Lt. Frederick Simorangkir two weeks ago, said
\nCol. Sidiq Fahmi who heads the law enforcement division at the
\nBanda Aceh military tribunal.<\/p>\n
\"The harshest punishment for any soldier is dismissal,\" Sidiq
\nclaimed.<\/p>\n
Military prosecutors had sought 15 years for Simorangkir who
\nwas found guilty for the killing spree that took place on Aug.
\n24, 2004.<\/p>\n
Sidiq refused to say when the court decision was issued for
\nthe defendant. The press missed covering his trial as the
\nmilitary tribunal apparently did not want them to know about it,
\nfor reasons that remain unclear.<\/p>\n
Sidiq said the convicted soldier has been flown to Surabaya,
\nEast Java, to serve his jail term.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col. Asep Sapari, a Aceh military spokesman, had once said
\nthat the shooter was probably suffering from severe depression as
\na consequence of his military service in the troubled province.<\/p>\n
However, military prosecutor Capt. Bambang Indrawan dismissed
\nthis claim.<\/p>\n
The defendant sprayed bullets into his colleagues while under
\nthe influence of drugs, Bambang said, reading the indictment.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor told the court that the incident began when
\nSimorangkir and other military personnel got together in a house
\nnear the Neusu Jaya military base in Banda Aceh.<\/p>\n
The get-together was hosted by First. Lt. Dedi Hermawan as a
\nreunion between seven soldiers, including Dedi and Simorangkir.<\/p>\n
While his friends were busy inhaling crystal methamphetamine
\n(shabu-shabu), Simorangkir went into another room of the house,
\n\"appearing crazed and acting very weird\", according to his
\nfriend.<\/p>\n
His friends failed to calm him down. Dedi then lost patience
\nwith Simorangkir and told him to return to his barracks.
\nSimorangkir refused and a quarrel started.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, Simorangkir picked up his gun and shot at everyone
\nin the house, including Dedi. Four died instantly, but another,
\nChief Pvt. Wawan, escaped.<\/p>\n
Simorangkir had been assigned to Aceh for 11 months, joining
\nother Navy and Army personnel in suppressing separatist rebels.<\/p>\n
Another source at a military hospital in Banda Aceh said the
\nshooter probably suffered from malaria, that led to depression.<\/p>\n
The shooting spree was similar to one in the 1990s where a
\nmiddle-ranking Army officer also shot dead several fellow
\nofficers and wounded others in the Timika town of Papua province.
\nMalaria was also blamed for driving the officer to shoot his
\ncolleagues.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/soldier-gets-10-years-for-killing-spree-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}