Defendant tells court of previous 'sin'

TANGERANG, West Java (JP): A 41-year-old woman standing trial for allegedly attempting to smuggle 9,000 Ecstasy pills into Indonesia told the Tangerang District Court yesterday that she had twice succeeded in smuggling the drug into the country in 1993 and 1994.

"In 1993 I managed to smuggle 200 Ecstasy pills from the Netherlands into Indonesia through the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. The following year I smuggled in 300 pills," ELW told the court presided over by Judge M. Nawir.

Motivated by her desire to make a large sum of money, the defendant confessed that she stashed 9,000 pills in her suitcase and sports shoes and attempted to enter the country on March 27 through Soekarno-Hatta Airport, where she was apprehended by customs and excise officials.

"In The Hague I bought for 10 guilder (Rp 14,000) each. I intended to sell the pills in Jakarta for Rp 30,000 each," she said.

She claimed that she bought the pills from someone named Sonny Luis Lai in The Hague. She then boarded a Lufthansa flight.

If found guilty, the defendant could be imprisoned for up to 15 years and fined up to Rp 300 million.

The defendant's lawyers, Nuryanto and Rusdi Sovian, earlier asked the court to drop the charges against their client.

According to the lawyers, Health Regulation No.23/1992 cannot be used to convict their client.

The lawyers argued that only institutions, professional and business groups having expertise in public health are subject to the regulation, not individuals.

The defendant has no expertise in public health and had the Ecstasy pills just because she thought the pills could make her a lot of money, the lawyers said.

The trial was adjourned until Monday when prosecutor Sarwono will read his sentence appeal.

Last Thursday the West Jakarta District Court sentenced Ng Wi Hon, alias Awi, 56, to 10 months imprisonment after finding him guilty of trafficking Ecstasy pills.

The case, the first of its kind in Jakarta, followed an intensive government campaign against the abuse of Ecstasy.

The government has been forced to use the 1992 Health Law to prosecute people because Ecstasy is not yet classified as a narcotic, and therefore is not covered under the 1976 Narcotics Law. (28/bas)