Adiguna murder trial begins; security tight
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Escorted by 50 police officers, Adiguna Sutowo, the wealthy businessman charged with the New Year's day murder of a waiter over a Rp 150,000 (US$16) bar bill, entered the courtroom as a defendant for the first time at the Central Jakarta District Court on Thursday.
Adiguna, accompanied by his mother and two sisters, who were among the standing-room only crowd of about 150 people, listened intently to the charges brought by the prosecution.
"The defendant drew his .22 caliber gun from his waistband and from a distance of 50 centimeters, fired a single fatal shot at the victim, Yohannes "Rudy" Berchmans Haerudy Natong," said chief prosecutor Andi Herman.
The prosecution, a six-person team, has charged Adiguna with murder and the illegal possession of a firearm.
The intentional, but not premeditated act of murder, falls under section 338 of the Criminal Code and carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Possessing an illegal firearm is punishable by a maximum of a life sentence or minimum of 20 years in prison.
"I understand the charges, but they are not true," said Adiguna to the panel of three judges.
According to prosecutors, a few hours after celebrating the coming of the New Year, Adiguna, returned to his 15th floor room at the Hilton Hotel, which is owned by the Sutowo family, in Central Jakarta, where he was staying with his wife, Vika Dewayani, and their female companion, Novia "Tinul" Herdiana.
At 4:40 a.m., Adiguna and Tinul, went to the club's bar, where Rudy was working as a part-time waiter.
Prosecutors claimed that Tinul told one of the bartenders, Daniel Sibarani, as she was paying for a round of drinks with her credit card, that, "I am scared of Adiguna ... he is an owner of the Hilton and is carrying a weapon."
The pair ordered another round of drinks from Rudy, a martini and a vodka tonic, and Adiguna gave the waiter his debit card to pay the Rp 150,000 bill.
Shortly thereafter, Rudy, 25, who was a semester away from being his family's first college graduate, returned the card to Adiguna, after being told that the club did not have the necessary equipment to process debit cards.
Adiguna then went into a rage, according to reports made public, whipped out his gun and aimed it at Rudy. He fired a fatal shot from point-blank range. The bullet penetrated Rudy's right temple and he died soon after that.
Mohammad Assegaf, the lead lawyer of Adiguna's 10-member defense team, said that although his client acknowledges being at the club at the time of the event, his client had no recollection of the events.
He added that prosecutors had not been able to find Adiguna's fingerprints on the gun, which was handed over to the police by a witness in the case six days after the murder. During a search, police had discovered 19 bullets in Adiguna's hotel room.
However, Andi Herman said that the lack of fingerprints would not hamper the prosecution's case.
"Besides corroborating statements from witnesses, we have other evidence, it'll all come out in time," said Andi, declining to specify what the evidence was. The prosecution intends to call 19 witnesses to testify.
The lawyer representing Rudy's family, Hendrik Jehaman, said he was satisfied with the prosecution's efforts so far.
"They are credible prosecutors," said Hendrik. "I am positive they will win a conviction."
The next trial session, where the defense will present its arguments, is scheduled for next Thursday. (002)