Court asked to summon drug defendant's doctor to testify

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)