Adiguna's lawyers shift suspicion to key witness

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Defense lawyers for Adiguna Sutowo challenged on Thursday all the charges laid by the prosecution against him, arguing that they were unfounded and not backed up by evidence.

During the hearing of defense pleas in the Central Jakarta District Court, the defense said that the prosecutors had failed to show that the murder weapon belonged to the youngest son of former state oil and gas company Pertamina president Ibnu Sutowo.

"We would urge the court to acquit Adiguna Sutowo of all charges of murder and possession of an illegal weapon," lead defense counsel Mohammad Assegaf told the court, presided over by Judge Lilik Mulyadi.

In an earlier session, the prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Adiguna for the shooting to death of Johannes Berchmans Haerudi Natong, a waiter working in Fluid Bar, and for the illegal possession of the revolver allegedly used to kill the victim on Jan. 1.

Reading the 100-page defense statement for almost two-and-a- half hours by turns, the defense lawyers focused on the fact that only one witness had testified to the court that the murder weapon belonged to Adiguna.

"Only Werner Saferna, or Wewen, said that the firearm was Adiguna's. One witness is the same as no witness, so in this case, Wewen's testimony is inadmissible," said lawyer Amir Karyatin.

The defense argued that as there were no fingerprints found on the revolver, it could have belonged to someone else who was in the same room at the time in question.

"The defendant told the court that he had handed his weapon over to the police much earlier to have the firearms license renewed. Besides, why believe Wewen, who kept the murder weapon for five days and only then turned it over to the police, saying it was Adiguna's?" said Amir.

Wewen handed over the weapon along with four bullets to the police on Jan. 7, and told the police that Adiguna had given him the revolver after Adiguna shot Natong.

The lawyers also pointed to the fact that no witnesses had been called who said that had directly seen Adiguna pull the trigger. Other bar staff, Cut Nina and Fajar Ramadhan, testified that they had only heard a gunshot and seen a man wearing a long- sleeved white shirt.

"Wewen was also wearing a long-sleeved white shirt," one of the defense lawyers said.

"We also want to point out that there was not even a splatter of blood found on Adiguna's shirt, while experts said that the shooting took place within a range of 60 centimeters."

The lawyers also rejected the prosecutors' sentencing recommendation.

The session began three hours late at about 1 p.m. after the judges ordered that Adiguna be compelled to attend the hearing even though he claimed he was receiving treatment at the MH Thamrin Hospital for respiratory problems.

"The court has never given an order to hospitalize the defendant," an angry Lilik said before issuing the order. (006)