Briton needed at prosecutors' office soon

Briton needed at prosecutors' office soon

JAKARTA (JP): The city Prosecutor's Office has asked a
48-year-old Briton to appear at the office soon to help support
the dossiers on the abduction attempt of his two sons here
recently.

"We really hope that he can come to this office as soon as
possible," prosecutor Meity Joseph, who handled the case, told
The Jakarta Post yesterday.

According to her, Malcolm John Town's absence from the city
has made it impossible for the public prosecutors office to bring
two Australian private detectives, allegedly hired by the boys'
mother, to court on the charge of attempting to abduct Jan Floyd
Town, six, and his brother Nick Floyd Town, four, from the house
of a friend of Malcolm in Cawang, East Jakarta, on Dec. 13.

Meity also asked Malcolm, who reported the case to the city
police, to bring his two sons with him.

"How can we bring the case to court if there's no single
victim or witness to support it," she said.

Malcolm recently sent a facsimile to the Post with the address
of his temporary office on Le Lai Street in Ho Chi Minh City in
Vietnam.

"I will return to Indonesia immediately after my VBS
(temporary staying visa) is approved and will attend a trial in
Indonesia if I'm requested to do so," he promised.

Due to the absence of Malcolm and his sons, the prosecutors
office has released on bail the two foreign detectives,
identified as Australian Michael Martino, 30, and New Zealander
Davies Maymehm, 29, from the Perth-based Protective Services
International.

Both detectives are believed to have returned to Australia
soon after their release.

"But we have obtained a written guarantee from their lawyer
that they can be easily called to attend the trial at anytime we
wish," said Meity.

The mother of the sons, Birgit Dorothea Helmer, 33, a German,
has also left Indonesia. She allegedly hired the two detectives
to abduct the children.

Birgit and the two detectives were arrested by city police
detectives at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport as they
attempted to leave Indonesia with the children just hours after
the abduction.

Following their arrest the two detectives were detained at
police headquarters, while the woman was under the supervision of
counseling staff from the German embassy here.

If found guilty, a kidnapper under such circumstances may face
a maximum prison term of seven years.

The absence of Malcolm and his sons could also lead the
prosecutor to close the case.

"He can give any reason for his staying overseas but what we
need is his arrival here," said the senior prosecutor.

Malcolm replied in his letter: "I have no intention of
disappearing out of Indonesia where I live from choice."

He said that he left Jakarta for Vietnam on Dec. 25 together
with his two sons and his new Indonesian wife, a former servant
and teacher for his sons.

He said that their stay in Vietnam was due to having to wait
for the issuance of his new temporary stay permit from the
Central Jakarta immigration office.

According to Malcolm, Jan and his brother missed their mother
immensely and always hoped to receive a letter from Birgit. They
wrote to their her but never got any reply, he said.

According to Birgit, a successful private businesswoman, she
has an Australian court ruling which states that she is entitled
to raise the children.

Malcolm has said that the ruling is not valid outside
Australia as it was made after he took the children out of the
country.

The couple separated three years ago in Perth. (bsr)