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)