Defendant in Jagorawi toll case withdraws testimony

BOGOR (JP): One of two defendants in the Jagorawi robbery and murder case, Erling Doly Wijaya, alias Mikel, withdrew his police testimony at yesterday's hearing.

He said he had "made it up" under police pressure, fearing he would end up like another police suspect -- Cece Tajudin, 41 -- who died Oct. 21, 1996, in police custody.

Yesterday Mikel joined another defendant, Hendrik, in saying they planned the robbery with the late victim, Zaenuddin Lesmana, who was shot on Oct. 11, 1996.

In the withdrawn testimony, Mikel had said the leader of an untitled land appropriation business group, Iedfil Jaya Anwar, had masterminded the robbery in which Zaenuddin, the group's treasurer, was killed.

"I was not beaten while under police investigation," Mikel told the Bogor District Court.

"But each time police said my replies were questionable they would take me out at night and say I would be terminated. One night they left me in the woods (in Bandung) for two hours," he said.

Earlier Mikel had withdrawn a statement he made as a witness for the dossier of Iedfil, who was a former suspect.

Mikel said Iedfil talked him into the robbery.

Yesterday Mikel gave the same statement as Hendrik, who is being tried separately, that he had planned the robbery with the late Zaenuddin.

Hendrik said the plan went wrong because a real gun was used instead of a toy gun. The man who allegedly shot Zaenuddin, Budiarto, is still at large.

Zaenuddin was shot after he had taken Rp 600 million from a BRI bank branch in Bogor. The money was meant for land appropriation for a housing project in Jonggol, West Java. The indictment said one bag containing Rp 312 million was stolen by Mikel and his accomplices.

Mikel said 20 days before the robbery, Zaenuddin had said he needed money to cover debts and to buy a new car for his girlfriend.

Mikel quoted Zaenuddin as saying, "Would it make sense if I pretended I was robbed?"

Mikel said he replied it would be logical because Zaenuddin had frequently taken money from the bank for land appropriation.

Mikel said he told Zaenuddin, "If you're serious about this I'll contact other friends."

He said he first knew Zaenuddin in June 1996 in a place called Villa Vita at a Puncak mountain resort, where the unnamed land appropriation business group met.

On the day of the planned robbery, Mikel said Zaenuddin had telephoned him from a Padang restaurant, saying he had separated a bag of money for Mikel and his accomplices, and another bag for himself.

Mikel said at the site of the robbery he saw Zaenuddin's Hyundai sedan parked off the toll road, where he saw Zaenuddin's limp body in one of the open doors.

"I thought it was an act," Mikel said.

Meanwhile the businessman implicated in the murder and robbery, Iedfil, was arrested by police last Monday on charges of involvement in car thefts.

Through his lawyers, Iedfil demanded that the arresting police officers be brought to court, because he claimed the arrest violated procedures.

Yesterday the pretrial hearing concluded with the judge rejecting Iedfil's demands. His lawyer, M. Sholeh Amin, said he accepted the court's decision. (24/anr)