Adiguna's team says charges obscure, requests acquittal
Adiguna's team says charges obscure, requests acquittal
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The defense team for businessman Adiguna Sutowo demanded on
Thursday that all charges against the murder suspect be dropped,
arguing that the prosecutors' case was obscure and misleading.
Amir Karyatin, one of six defense lawyers present during the
hearing at the Central Jakarta District Court, claimed that the
prosecutors' charges were not in accordance with witness
statements in the case file submitted by police investigators.
According to prosecutors, on New Year's day, Adiguna, a
prominent 46-year-old businessman, threw a tantrum after a waiter
told him that he could not use his debit card to settle a Rp
150,000 (US$16) bill at a bar located in the Hilton Hotel in
Central Jakarta.
Adiguna then pulled out a gun and fired a single shot into the
head of the 25-year-old waiter, Yohanes Brachmans Hairudy Natong,
who was working at the bar to pay his way through university.
The 10-strong defense team pointed out that this description
of the chain of events was inconsistent with statements recorded
in the case file, in which witness Novia Herdiana, who was with
the defendant at the time of the incident, said that the shooting
took place after she told Adiguna that the bar would not let them
charge their bill to their hotel room.
The defense also complained about media coverage of the case,
claiming that it had made their client appear guilty in the eyes
of the public.
Karyatin implored trial judges to remain impartial, reminding
them that "the court system abides by the principles of the
presumption of innocence and non self-incrimination."
After the trial session, Andi Herman, the lead prosecutor in
the case, said that the prosecutors' charges were not just based
on the case file but also on the autopsy report and the police
reenactment of the event.
"Even though there are some minor discrepancies between what
is in the case file and what is in the indictment, substantially
the facts are compatible," said Andi.
The five-strong prosecution team charged Adiguna with
committing an act of malicious, but not premeditated, murder,
which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years' imprisonment.
Adiguna is also charged with the illegal possession of a
firearm, which is punishable by a life sentence under the 1951
Emergency Law.
In the defense team's 12-page counter-argument, nothing was
mentioned concerning the possession of the gun.
Presiding judge Lilik Mulyadi adjourned the trial until
Wednesday to hear the prosecutors' response to the defense team's
objections. (002)