Agus appears in court, declares his innocence

Agus appears in court, declares his innocence

JAKARTA (JP): Only one day after his father vowed not to
interfere in the investigation and prosecution process, Army
Second Lt. Agus Isrok appeared at West Jakarta District Court on
Monday to defend his innocence in a drug abuse and trafficking
case.

Agus, a member of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus),
testified as a witness in the trial of Donny Hendrian, who was
arrested along with the low-ranking officer, for alleged
possession of drugs last August.

Agus' father is former Army chief of staff Gen. Subagyo
Hadisiswoyo, who is currently a military advisor to President
Abdurrahman Wahid. Subagyo told reporters after playing tennis at
the Senayan sports complex on Sunday that he had not interfered
with the investigation into Agus' alleged involvement in drug
abuse and trafficking.

Arriving at the court under tight security of several
plainclothes officers, Agus appeared in the courtroom at 1:05
p.m. wearing a black tie, a long-sleeved white shirt and black
pants. He looked calm and full of confidence throughout the
hearing.

The 24-year-old officer had failed to attend the previous
hearings after being summoned under his alias, Deky Setiawan. The
same name was listed on the police report and in the prosecutor's
indictment.

Agus told the hearing, presided over by Judge Hadi Lelana,
that he first met the defendant, Donny Hendrian, only six months
ago.

"The defendant is only an acquaintance," he said. He said he
had only met Donny about five or six times during the six months.

Similarly, Donny acknowledged that he first met Agus six
months ago at a gathering at a coastal pond in Karawang, West
Java.

"A businessman introduced me to Agus," he said after the
hearing.

Agus said he was at Hotel Travel on Jl. Mangga Besar in West
Jakarta, as stated in the indictment, because it was his
birthday, which fell on Aug. 6.

He insisted that it was the defendant who invited him to the
hotel.

"I was called by the defendant to go to room 408 in the hotel
at 1 p.m.," he said, adding that he arrived at about 3 p.m.

Only reading

The witness denied the allegation that he consumed drugs with
the defendant during his stay at the hotel.

"I spent my time reading newspapers, watching television and
chatting with Donny. Then I went to bed at about 9 p.m.," he
said.

"I did not see anything on the desk," he added.

The police report said there were traces of shabu-shabu
(crystal methamphetamine) on a desk in the room, along with
paraphernalia to inhale the drug.

Agus said no other people had entered the room up until the
time he and the defendant were arrested by the police at about 2
a.m. the following day.

He also denied having a meeting with Aciang, a suspected drug
dealer during his stay at the hotel, saying that he did not know
the person. Aciang is still at large.

Donny, however, refuted the witness' testimony, saying that
he, Agus and Aciang met on that day. "We met with Aciang, but
probably he (Agus) did not know his name," Donny said.

Agus said the police seized from him matches and a packet of
cigarettes. The police report said the match box contained a few
grams of shabu-shabu, which Agus denied was his.

"They were hotel matches. Right after the arrest, the police
showed me the matches, which already contained a few grams of
white crystal," he said, referring to the shabu-shabu.

The judge asked prosecutor Amirullah to present the evidence
to the court, but Amirullah said it was not among the evidence in
his possession.

Col. Hendardji, a senior official at the National Military
Police Headquarters, said recently that the evidence was in the
hands of military investigators.

During the early morning raid, the police also reportedly
seized 1.6 kilograms of shabu-shabu, 6,218 ecstasy pills, 27.9
grams of heroin and 25 sachets of Valium pills.

Agus also denied possessing the drugs, which were packed in a
big black bag.

"When I woke up, the police were already in the hotel room,
and I saw them opening the bag," he said.

Defendant Donny also denied possessing the drugs.

Agus also testified in favor of Donny, saying: "I never saw
Donny consuming shabu-shabu nor trafficking drugs during his stay
at the hotel," he said.

Asked by the prosecutor why he used the name Deky Setiawan
during the arrest instead of Agus Isrok, he said it was to
protect the name of his corps and that of his family.

Another witness at Monday's hearing, Zainal Abidin, testified
that the room was registered under the defendant's name.

"The defendant booked the room by using an identity card,"
Zainal, the operational manager of the hotel, said.

The judge adjourned the hearing until next week to hear
testimonies from witnesses. (asa)