Bomb blast convict gets 11 years' imprisonment
Bomb blast convict gets 11 years' imprisonment
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): A district court here sentenced 42-
year-old Edy Sugiharto to 11 years in jail on Monday for
assembling bombs sent to churches on Christmas Eve last year.
The sentence was lighter than the 20-year jail term demanded
by chief prosecutor Freddy Siregar.
The court panel of judges, presided over by K. Sianturi, said
in their verdict that Edy had been found guilty beyond any doubt
of producing bombs to be detonated in the North Sumatra's cities
of Medan and Pematang Siantar and in Pekanbaru, Riau.
Presiding judge Sianturi said that Edy was guilty of violating
Article 1 and Article 55 of the Criminal Law No. 12/1951 for
producing and exploding bombs. The bombs assembled by the convict
exploded in Pematang Siantar on Dec. 24, 2000, the judge said.
The judge said the defendant's activities had caused fear
among people and endangered human lives. While the mitigating
factors, according to him, were that Edi had been polite and
cooperative during previous court hearings.
The judge said that Edi received the order to produce the
bombs from Polem, alias Eriyanto, the commander of the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) for Pasai region in Aceh. Polem has been put on
the list of wanted persons.
Edi, according to the judge, had received Rp 28 million from
Polem to assemble 14 bombs and to detonate the bombs at the homes
of clergymen and churches in the cities.
The judge further said that after several meetings with Polem
and his friends between June and Dec. 19, 2000, Edy began
producing the bombs on Dec. 20, 2000 and finished assembling them
three days later.
Each of the bombs were then put in parcels with Christmas
greeting cards bearing the message: "Appealing for God's
blessings and a miracle for my mother who is undergoing cervical
cancer surgery in Singapore."
Every parcel had a fictive sender's name and address: Kwik
Jean Lee/Chandra Wijaya, director of PT Indo Mandiri Perkasa at
Jl. Irian Barat No. 5, Medan.
Five parcels were sent to E. L. Imaron Sebayang Mth, a
clergyman of a church at Jl. Kasuari Sipinggul-Pinggul, Pematang
Siantar. The bombs, which exploded on Christmas Eve, destroyed
his house but claimed no victims.
Two bombs which failed to explode were found by Raden Kus
Simamora, a Catholic priest, in a church on Jl Hayam Wuruk and at
the house of clergyman W. Lody Matondang on Jl. Hasanuddin, all
in Medan.
Edy and his lawyer Togatorop rejected the verdict and said
they would appeal to a higher court. (42)