53 witnesses to testify in Acan case
53 witnesses to testify in Acan case
JAKARTA (JP): The Bekasi District Court will start to hear testimonies on Thursday of 53 witnesses in relation to the gang rape and robbery of Acan's family members .
The hearings will be divided into three sessions, each with a separate panel of judges, a spokesman for the court told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
Bahry, the spokesman, said that there are 11 defendants, whose ages range between 17 and 23 years. All of them will be charged with robbing the family of its jewelry while seven of them will face charges of raping Acan's wife and two daughters in Cimatis village, Bekasi regency, about 30 kilometers southeast of here, in July. All of them will be charged with arms possession.
The case enraged local people and thousands have visited Acan and his family to show their sympathy. The commander of the Bekasi police was awarded a special honor by President Soeharto in August for his success in tracking down the suspects.
According to Bahry, the court has set up special security measures with the police to prevent angry villagers from attacking the defendants.
In August, an angry mob attacked the suspects' lawyers, who were filing a lawsuit against Bekasi police for the illegal arrest of their clients.
They later canceled the lawsuit on the grounds that the police had failed to guarantee their safety.
An official at the local prosecutors office said earlier that around 100 anti-riot police will stand guard at the trials.
The chief secretary of the Bekasi District court, J.A. Situru, said that those found guilty of rape, robbery and possession of arms are subject to a maximum of 16 years in prison.
The first panel of judges to try the case will be chaired by Pieter Poerba, who is also the deputy head of the Bekasi District Court. Their session will hear 20 witnesses in the case of three defendants: Bonen, Mamat and Dedy Setiawan.
The second panel, chaired by judge Suhartini, will hear 16 witnesses for defendants Iwan Rezeki, Mohamad Ali, Taman and Supriyatna.
While the third, chaired by RL Pardede, will hear another 17 witnesses, for suspects Matalih, Indra Wijayadisaputra, Aris Haryadi and Jamal. (03)