4-year sentence for murderer
On Monday, the East Jakarta District Court sentenced Halomoan Manullang, 32, to four years imprisonment for killing Asep Setiawan.
The sentence handed out by the court is four years less than what was requested by the prosecutor, Zoelfahmi. However, the court's decision to lighten the suggested sentence seems understated considering that Manullang was trying to protect himself from three assailants.
Presiding Judge Toni Hartono said that Manullang was guilty beyond any reasonable doubt of stabbing Asep to death at 10.30 p.m. on Nov. 3, 1993 in the Kramat referral market, East Jakarta.
According to the court, the victim and two of his friends, Nali and Edi, had gotten drunk on beer obtained at a shop in the city's fruit and vegetable market. Afterwards, they paid a visit to Manullang at his drink stand and asked him for money, a request that he bluntly turned down.
Manullang reportedly told Nali that he only had a knife.
Upon receiving the unfavorable reply, Nali, Asep and Edi tried to assault Manullang. Manullang, acting quickly to defend himself, took a knife out of his drink stand and stabbed Asep twice.
The victim bled to death in minutes on the way to hospital. (has)
Exhibition for the aged
The Central Board of Kerta Wredatama, an association for the elderly, plans hold an exhibition from Oct. 6 to 10.
The exhibition will feature goods specifically for senior citizens.
The products to be put on display at the five-day exhibition, which is being held to commemorate Indonesia's 50th Independence, will include numerous types of drugs, the Indonesian traditional herb jamu, and food and clothing for the aged.
Monday, Chairperson of the board Endang Sulbi Suska gave the details about the exhibition after meeting with Mrs. Try Sutrisno, the wife of Vice-president Try Sutrisno, at her residence on Jl. Dipongeogoro, Central Jakarta. She was there to present her proposal for the event.
Endang said the exhibition was scheduled to be opened by First Lady Tien Soeharto.
"Technological progress doesn't only touch the lives of youth. There are many new advances for the elderly as well," said Endang. (has)
Exclusive townhouses in East Bekasi
PT Gapura Prima Group, a housing developer, is constructing the first phase of Freeway Mansion, an exclusive real estate complex consisting of 168 townhouses in East Bekasi, east of here.
Rudy Margono, the company's president, told a press conference yesterday that the complex, which will cover an area of 4.3 hectares, will be specifically constructed to meet the demands of upper middle income earners.
The complex, which is located only 100 meters from the gate of the Jakarta-Bekasi toll road and can be reached in 15 minutes from the Semanggi clover leaf, is believed to be the first exclusive real estate project in Bekasi, said Rudy.
"We hope the houses will be the best place to live for expatriates working at several factories in the East Bekasi area," he said.
Rudy added that the houses, measuring between 143 and 159 square meters, will be sold at prices ranging from Rp 187 million to Rp 232 million per unit.
He said that about 25 percent of the houses, currently under construction and to be completed by January, have already been sold during a soft launching campaign held on May 6-8 in Bekasi. (05)
Preparation for Idul Adha Day
The city's animal husbandry offices are required to give their best service to the community in the run-up to Idul Adha Day on May 21, Oetoro, the head of the office said yesterday.
Idul Adha Day is one of the Islamic holy days when Moslems buy and slaughter livestock, usually goats, as a sacrifice to God. They believe that God prevented Prophet Ibrahim from slaying his son Ismail by offering up a goat for slaughter instead.
Oetoro said the district heads are also required to improve inspections of livestock to be sacrificed and to gather accurate data on who owns the livestock, their prices, where they come from, where they are located and how many workers are needed to deal with them.
In a related development, Oetoro recommended that livestock suffering from stress be treated with anti-stress medicine distributed free of charge.
Oetoro reminded that slaughtering of livestock is exempted from all forms of taxation and that it is forbidden to trade the meat. (06)
Surjadi to open PKK contests
Governor Surjadi Soedirja is scheduled on May 18 to officially open a series of contests held to mark Jakarta's 467th anniversary and the 49th anniversary of Indonesia's Independence Day.
The contests, tied to 10 programs of the Social Welfare Movement (PKK), will be held starting with subdistricts, districts, mayoralties and then municipalities.
The contests include simulation games for children, cooking contests for schoolchildren and speech contests on how to reduce the infant and childbirth mortality rate.
This year's theme for Jakarta's anniversary is With strength and faithfulness Jakarta is ready to continue development In order to ensure the success of the sixth five-year development program. (06)