Court asked to summon drug defendant's doctor to testify

JAKARTA (JP): A defense lawyer asked the West Jakarta District Court on Tuesday to summon a medical doctor to testify in the trial of drug defendant Gusti Maya Firanti Noor, 29, the wife of former president Soeharto's grandson Ari Sigit.

"Dr. Al Bachri, who treated my client for her drug addiction, works at the Wisma Addiksi drug addiction center in Bukit Cinere Indah in South Jakarta," Asfifudin said during the court session, presided over by Judge Sri Handojo.

"Since he is medically bound, a summons is needed for him to testify for the defendant. A second witness who will also testify in court for the defendant will appear at the next hearing," the lawyer said.

The judge adjourned the hearing until Sept. 12, when the court will hear testimony from witnesses for the defendant. Maya also is expected to be cross-examined during the session.

After the hearing, Asfifudin said Al Bachri had been treating his client for the past six months for her one-year drug addiction.

"The evidence in the case, the drugs that were confiscated from my client, could possibly have been prescribed by Bachri.

"If it is proven in court that unable to contact the doctor, my client turned to another source for the prescribed drugs, we might have a chance of winning this case," he said.

He added that the other witness expected to testify for the defense had not yet confirmed he would appear in court. "So we cannot reveal his identity now."

Prosecutor Achjadi Santoso has charged the defendant with violating Article 62 of Law No. 5/1997 on psychotropic substances. The article carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of Rp 100 million (US$11,235).

During the court session on Tuesday, the prosecutor read out the testimony of three witnesses who failed to appear in court despite receiving two summonses.

The witnesses were identified as security guards A. Sodirin and Andi Hamzah, and Azwari, who was present at the scene of Maya's arrest as a bystander.

Reading out the testimony, Achjadi said the defendant was arrested after police found 1.58 grams of shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine) and drug paraphernalia in her purse and inside her Mercedes Benz sedan, which was parked in the parking lot of the Hotel Olympic in West Jakarta's Tamansari district on June 22, 2000.

After the written testimony was read, Maya said the drugs found in her purse "belonged to her".

West Jakarta Police deputy chief of detectives Sr. Insp. Asrofi, who made the arrest, gave his testimony during the initial court session. He said that the day the defendant was arrested, he was some 50 meters from Hotel Olympic when he heard people arguing over counterfeit money and cellular phone vouchers.

"I checked with the owner of a store near the hotel which sells cell phone vouchers. The store owner told me two people had tried to buy a Rp 100,000 Pro-XL voucher from him using two Rp 50,000 banknotes. One of the banknotes was fake.

"I ran after the two guys. One man turned out to be the hotel's security guard (Sodirin), who had been asked by the defendant to buy the voucher for her with money she had given him," Asrofi said.

He said he then approached Maya, who was sitting in her vehicle, and was asking her about the fake money when he spotted the drug paraphernalia next to her on the seat.

"I checked her purse and found a small packet containing one gram of shabu-shabu, aluminum foil and other things," the officer testified. (ylt)