Anger and uproar follow Bekasi gang rape verdict
Anger and uproar follow Bekasi gang rape verdict
JAKARTA (JP): Cries from family members, outbursts of anger
from the defendants and public uproar followed the verdict handed
down yesterday at the Bekasi district court, where the 11 men
charged with gang rape and robbery were sentenced to between five
and 14 years in prison.
The men, in three separate hearings, burst into fits of anger,
beating wooden chairs and anything else nearby. They approached
eager cameramen and media reporters, screaming they were not
guilty.
"For God's sake I didn't do it," Taman said in front of TV
cameras.
"The police used us, tortured us and forced us to admit to the
crime," Iwan screamed.
But the panel of judges responsible for the verdict
disregarded the claims. The defendants were accompanied by lawyer
Saman Ritonga at the time of the police investigation and there
were no signs of torture, added the judges.
The defendants and their family members continued to protest
even after the judges had left the courtroom.
"See what they've done to simple people like us, who don't
know anything about the law," an old mother cried in her son's
embrace as the defendants were led to the detention room.
All 11 men were found guilty of robbing the family of Acan --
a poor farmer in Cimatis village, 30 km southeast of here, in
July last year -- and of gang raping his wife and two teenage
daughters.
The judges said they based their decision on witness
testimonies and on the testimonies of Acan, his wife Ani, and his
daughters Nunung and Acah, who said they recognized the faces of
some of the defendants.
"The victims said they know them well because some of them are
their relatives," judge Syamsudin said.
The defendants, between 17 and 23 years old, were sentenced
according to their roles in the crime.
Bonen, said to have masterminded the crime, was sentenced to
14 years imprisonment. Mamat, Matalih and Aris Haryadi were
sentenced to 12 years each, while Iwan Rezeki, Mochamad Ali,
Indra Wijayadisaputra, and Jamal received 11-year sentences.
Dedy Setiawan, Taman, and Supriyatna were found not guilty of
rape, but given five years imprisonment apiece for robbery.
"What did I do wrong? Kill me here now!" Bonen screamed.
Unlike the hundreds of people inside, the atmosphere outside
the courthouse was much different. The crowd outside cursed the
defendants as they were led under heavy security to a police van
waiting to take them to jail in Bekasi.
"You should have been hung Boncel!" screamed a woman at the
gate.
The defense lawyers said yesterday that they would bring the
case to a higher court in Bandung, West Java's capital.
"The prosecutors investigated the case based only on the
dossiers and did not take into account the facts offered by
witnesses and defendants," one of the 15 defense lawyers said,
adding that the court refused to hear the testimony of a defense
witness named Amin, who allegedly has information about the
crime.
The panel of judges said they rejected Amin because the
defense's 10 witnesses, apart from the other eight proposed by
the prosecutors, were enough. (03)