Curiosity led us to buy exam papers: Witnesses

JAKARTA (JP): Three students testified at the South Jakarta District Court on Monday that curiosity had led them to buy copies of the national high school final examinations (Ebtanas) from defendant Dwi Santoso.

One of the witnesses, Yudhi, told the panel of judges that he and his former classmates at the Association of Jakarta Christian Schools (PSKD) IV in Melawai, South Jakarta, Theresia Puspitasari, alias Sari, 18, and Pratami Keswani Hashum, alias Ami, 18, met with Dwi at Blok M Plaza shopping mall before the final exams were held from May 22 through May 24.

"My classmate Sari told me Dwi had these Ebtanas copies. I became curious... whether he really had them or not," Yudhi told the hearing presided over by judge M. Daning Sunusi.

Dwi, an office boy at the Directorate General of Elementary and Secondary Education of the Ministry of National Education, is charged with stealing the Ebtanas master copies in March, a crime which carries a maximum jail term of five years.

Yudhi said Dwi, who had worked at the ministry for three years, charged him Rp 200,000 (US$23) for each subject containing five questions. During the meeting Yudhi gave Dwi Rp 50,000 for Biology and Rp 100,000 for Mathematics as down payment.

"Dwi said that five questions had been allotted to every subject, and that one of the five questions was sure to appear in the exams," Yudhi explained.

When asked about his grade in mathematics by judge Daning, Yudhi said he managed only six.

Yudhi said he never sold the questions to any of his other friends, but did lend them to Ami.

Witness Sari told the hearing that she ordered the questions for the Physics and Chemistry papers and paid Rp 250,000 for each subject.

She added that Dwi's brother, Tresno, was the first to contact her and inform her that his brother Dwi had Ebtanas master copies and was willing to sell them. She also admitted to having arranged the meeting at the shopping mall.

Sari received an eight in both Physics and Chemistry.

Ami, meanwhile, told the hearing that thanks to the papers she borrowed from Yudhi, she got a seven in both Biology and Mathematics.

Yudhi said he and his classmates never took the reexamination since his school never told them to do so.

Daning asked: "So, all three of you are telling me that right now you're in universities, due to grades you got from cheating?"

When the students said yes, Daning replied: "Well, then success to the three of you!"

After those testimonies, defendant Dwi told judge Daning that he made Rp 4 million from selling Ebtanas copies of to students of South Jakarta schools, including PSKD 4 High School, SMA 3 Setiabudi State High School, SMA Al Azhar High School.

Prosecutor So'imah said that on March 30, that the defendant had taken the master copies of examination papers in economic studies, sociology, mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology, among others.

Dwi said that Yeni Daryani, a committee member for the Ebtanas project, had ordered him to steal the copies, because she was jealous of witness Sri Yudiani, subdivision head of systems and procedures at Dikdasmen, a position which Yeni had long coveted.

Yeni is being questioned by city police detectives as a suspect.

Dwi added that he stole the papers on March 30, and gave them to Yeni at the latter's house before starting to sell them

"I know what I did was wrong. I agree, that I was greedy."

Judge Daning postponed the hearing until Nov. 8, when prosecutor So'imah is scheduled to demand a jail term. (ylt)