Civilian court suitable for Agus: Loebby

JAKARTA (JP): Law expert Loebby Loqman suggested on Sunday that the military police allow drug suspect Second Lt. Agus Isrok to be tried in a civilian court.

Loebby, a professor of law at the University of Indonesia, said the ongoing legal procedures carried out by the West Jakarta District Court, the police and the military police were incorrect.

"The military member should be tried in a civilian court since he (allegedly) committed a general crime, not a military crime," he told The Jakarta Post.

Article 91 of the existing Law on Criminal Code Procedure stipulates that any military members involved in crimes that harm the general public should be tried in a civilian court, while those involved in crimes that causes losses to the military should be tried in a military court.

Loebby said Agus, an active member of the Army's elite Special Force (Kopassus), had allegedly committed a crime that had caused greater losses to civilians than to the military.

"He is allegedly involved in a drug case, in which the wrongdoing is against the government's and the public's drive to combat the consumption and trafficking of drugs within the community," he said.

Agus therefore deserved to be tried by civilian judges, Loebby insisted.

Last Wednesday, National Military Police chief Maj. Gen. Djasrie Marin declared Agus, whose father is former Army chief of staff Gen. Soebagyo Hadisiswoyo, as a suspect in a drug case and stated he would be tried in a military court.

Agus was arrested along with his accomplice Donny Hendrian in a hotel room in West Jakarta on Aug. 8. During the raid, police seized, among other things, 1.6 kilograms of shabu-shabu (crystal methampethamine), 6,218 ecstasy pills, 27.9 grams of heroin and 25 sachets of Valium pills.

Both denied possession of the items. The police also confiscated a box of matches containing several grams of shabu- shabu from Agus, which Agus also denied was his.

Donny's trial over his alleged role in the drug case has been ongoing since early January.

Agus, who used a false name at the time of his arrest, testified as a witness at the trial of Donny last week in the West Jakarta District Court. He said the match box belonged to the hotel and he knew nothing about its contents.

Loebby said the West Jakarta Court should quickly order the prosecutors to drop the indictment in order to let them to change it to one using Agus's correct name.

In the dossiers handed over by the police to the prosecutors, Agus is referred to as Deky Setiawan. This has since became a serious problem in the court.

"The prosecutors should hand back (Donny's) dossiers to the police and ask them to use the correct name of Agus Isrok," he said.

At Donny's trial, Agus admitted he used the false name of Deky Setiawan in a bid to deceive the police and to protect his family and Kopassus' reputations. (asa)