Defendant tries to escape on way to trial

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Defendant Gunawan Santosa attempted to escape from a prosecutors' car on Tuesday on his way to stand trial on charges of premeditated murder and manslaughter at the North Jakarta District Court. The incident took place on Jl. Pangkalan Asem, Cempaka Putih Barat, Central Jakarta, at about 10 a.m.

The trial itself was adjourned until next week.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo told reporters that Gunawan, a detainee at Salemba penitentiary, Central Jakarta, was handcuffed and guarded by two officers from the North Jakarta Prosecutors' Office.

"He pointed a Berretta pistol at the guard sitting next to him and ordered the guard to uncuff him. The guard was able to kick him out of the car and a bullet from the pistol accidentally hit Gunawan in the midriff."

Police patrolling in the area arrested Gunawan, who was attempting to flee, before taking him to the Soekanto Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta.

"The police seized a 32-caliber Berretta pistol, three handcuffs, a cellular phone and Rp 35.92 million (US$4,177) in cash from him," Prasetyo said.

Prasetyo said the Central Jakarta Police precinct did not request police assistance to transport Gunawan. "We are still looking into how Gunawan got the pistol, the handcuffs and the money."

Gunawan was charged with masterminding the killing of PT Arena Sarana Bakti (Asaba) president director Boedyharto Angsono, his ex father-in-law, and his bodyguard. He had earlier escaped from Kuningan penitentiary in Cirebon, West Java, where he was serving time for an embezzlement case.

The police statement was different from eyewitness accounts.

"The man fell from the car, his head hit the asphalt. He was unconscious and a gun slipped from his hand, spun and a shot was fired accidentally," said Adi, an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver who was only four meters from the scene.

The ojek drivers immediately took Gunawan to a nearby clinic where a doctor, who requested anonymity, said the defendant was unconscious for around 20 minutes.

"He didn't have any gunshot wounds nor was he bleeding. He was also not handcuffed," the doctor said.

A guard from the prosecutors' office entered the clinic 20 minutes later and handcuffed Gunawan, who had already regained consciousness, and later, some policemen came and took Gunawan with them.

Witnesses insisted that they did not see any blood on Gunawan's light-blue shirt when he left the clinic. They also said if they had not stopped the car, it would have driven away.

"Maybe the driver didn't realize that something had happened in the backseat," Adi said. "When the car eventually stopped, we saw that the guard sitting in the backseat was handcuffed."

A security guard at STIAMI college at the site, Mustika, claimed he helped remove the handcuffs from the guard using his key.

The driver Dadang, Padmawinata, the guard who sat next to Dadang and Sutrisman, the guard who fought with Gunawan, are being questioned by the North Jakarta Police.