16-yr-old gets 8 years for murder

JAKARTA: The Central Jakarta District Court on Thursday sentenced Harlan Adi Majreha, 16, to eight years in prison after finding him guilty of murdering his employer on Sept. 5.

The sentence is more lenient than the 10 years sought by the prosecutors, and was half of the maximum 20-year sentence for murder cases as stipulated in the Criminal Code.

Taking the defendant's age into consideration, the judges reduced the sentence.

Harlan told the court that the victim, Fredy Maneman, 50, used to verbally abuse him when he worked as a helper at Fredy's house.

He said the murder was not premeditated. On the day that it occurred he was intending to return a book and to take his towel and clothes home, when the two exchanged words and Harlan ended up stabbing Fredy to death. -- JP