STPDN seniors get suspended jail terms<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Sumedang, West Java<\/p>\n
The Sumedang District Court handed down on Tuesday the verdicts
\nfor 10 Public Administration Institute (STPDN) students, who were
\ncharged with assaulting their juniors during initiation for
\nmarching band earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Three students -- Joshua Napitupulu, Budi Sukisna and
\nFebrianto Borman -- received a suspended three-month sentence and
\none year probation.<\/p>\n
The remaining seven students -- I Ketut Mahardika, Laode Ricki
\nNugraha, Muhamad Rizal, Heronimus C.H.R Ganwarin, Rudiantoro,
\nKenny Pieter Tupamahu and Alexander Sinuling -- were given a
\nsuspended three-month sentence and a probation period of six
\nmonths.<\/p>\n
The suspended jail terms mean the 10 students will not serve
\ntheir three-months terms unless they commit a criminal offense
\nwithin their allocated probation period.<\/p>\n
The verdicts for the 10 were read out over seven hours in
\nseparate courtrooms by judges Parlis Nababan, Yapi and R.E.
\nSetiawan.<\/p>\n
The three judges concluded that the 10 defendants were guilty
\nof beating and kicking their juniors during an initiation
\nceremony for marching band certificates at the STPDN campus in
\nJatinangor, Sumedang regency.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred in June this year, but it made headlines
\nacross national media last month, when private television SCTV
\nstation broadcast video footage on the violence nationwide.<\/p>\n
The 10 students were initially charged of violating Article
\n352 of the Criminal Code on assault, which carries a maximum
\nsentence of nine months in jail.<\/p>\n
The judges rebuked the students, saying that they, as the
\nfuture leaders of the Indonesian bureaucracy, should not commit
\nviolence.<\/p>\n
However, the judges only gave suspended sentences, on the
\ngrounds that the assault had been part of the STPDN culture.<\/p>\n
Seven defendants accepted their verdicts, while the remaining
\nthree were considering appeals.<\/p>\n
The students were seen looking happy after leaving court, and
\nsome of them were even seen posing for photographs in front of
\nthe court.<\/p>\n
The Sumedang Prosecutor's Office is studying the dossiers of
\n21 other STPDN suspects who assaulted their juniors in three
\nseparate cases earlier this year, including the case that led to
\nthe death of Wahyu Hidayat.<\/p>\n
Wahyu's death on Aug. 26, after being beaten by senior
\nstudents, brought the institute and its culture of violence to
\npublic attention, and eventually led to the uncovering of other
\ncases of assault and abuse.<\/p>\n
The institute has a reputation for imposing a military style
\nof discipline on its students.<\/p>\n
The Prosecutor's Office expected to bring the three cases to
\ncourt immediately.<\/p>\n
Separately, the acting chairman of STPDN, I Nyoman Sumaryadi,
\nsaid the institute would hold an executive meeting to discuss the
\nadministrative measures to be taken in regards the 31 students
\nafter the close of their trials.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/stpdn-seniors-get-suspended-jail-terms-1447893297",
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