Court sentences Malawian to life for heroin smuggling

TANGERANG, Banten (JP): Tangerang District Court sentenced on Tuesday a Nigerian to life imprisonment for attempting to smuggle one kilogram of heroin into the country from Pakistan.

Presiding judge Warsito declared that the defendant, Namaona Denis, 35, from Malawi, Africa, was convicted of smuggling a kilogram of heroin into the country through Soekarno-Hatta Airport in April.

Economic hardship and a lack of knowledge of Indonesian law were regarded as the main mitigating factors in sentencing the defendant to life imprisonment, Warsito said.

The court sentenced two Nepalese, Nar Bahadur Tamang and Bala Tamang, in January last year to death for smuggling 554 grams of heroin from Thailand.

The court also handed down death penalty on Aug. 13 to Hansen Anthony, a Nigerian, and Ozias Sibanda, a Zimbabwean, who smuggled 600 and 850 grams of heroin into the country from Pakistan.

When asked why the panel of judges did not mete out a death penalty to Denis, who had smuggled in more heroin than the other three defendants, Warsito noted that the death penalty was found to be no longer effective in curbing drug trafficking.

Earlier, prosecutor Victor Silitonga charged the defendant with violating Article 82 of Law No. 22/1997 on drugs. The article carries a maximum punishment of death.

Victor said the defendant accepted a proposal from a man named Haifan at the Hotel Embassy in Pakistan on April 11 to deliver the heroin to Abidjan in West Africa.

"But since the defendant had a visa for Indonesia and Haifan happened to have an acquaintance in West Kalimantan, he changed his mind and ordered the defendant to bring the heroin to Indonesia," Victor said.

The defendant who said he was promised US$3,000 should he succeed in delivering the heroin to a man in Pontianak, then swallowed 73 capsules containing the heroin, before boarding Singapore Airlines flight SQ152 in Karachi and flying to Indonesia.

As he arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on April 15, customs and excise officers became suspicious when they noticed the defendant acting nervously and perspiring heavily. The officers handed Denis over to a medical team.

Further examination at the airport's Medika Center Hospital revealed that there were strange objects in the defendant's stomach. The defendant was made to defecate four times on April 16, resulting in the evacuation of 73 capsules.

Victor then demanded that the district court sentence the defendant to life imprisonment on Aug. 17.

Commenting on his punishment, Denis said that the punishment did not mean anything to him since it was equal to the prosecutor's demand.

"I think the punishment is still too strong. I want the lawmaking body to realize that foreigners do not clearly understand the law governing drugs in Indonesia," he told The Jakarta Post from the holding cell at the court.

He said based on his visits to Saudi Arabia, Singapore and China, all foreigners are informed about the death penalty for drugs before landing in the country.

Denis said he was unsure whether or not to accept the sentence or appeal to the Supreme Court. (41)