Defendant in Jagorawi toll case withdraws testimony

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In the withdrawn testimony, Mikel had said the leader of an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Earlier Mikel had withdrawn a statement he made as a witness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)