Drug dealer gets jail sentence and fine

Drug dealer gets jail sentence and fine

TANGERANG (JP): After postponing the reading of the verdict
twice, the Tangerang District Court finally sentenced on Monday a
drug dealer to seven years and six months in jail and Rp 2
million in fines.

Presiding judge Silverster Djuma said that after questioning
seven witnesses and examining the evidence, the panel of judges
found the defendant, Robert alias Ken Ken, guilty of smuggling 40
kilograms of shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine) into the
country from Hong Kong.

"Therefore, there is no reason to free the defendant," judge
Djuma told the court.

Among mitigating factors, Djuma said that defendant was polite
during the hearing; that he was still young and could still be
expected to improve his behavior and that he had never been sent
to prison before.

The court had postponed reading out its verdict twice due to
defendant's poor health.

Earlier, prosecutor Asnawi said that the defendant through his
fictitious trading company, PT Sarana Export-Import Indograha,
had imported 40 kilograms of shabu-shabu from a businessman
identified only as Chaike in October last year.

Ken Ken, 32, a resident on Jl. Mangga Besar 11, Tangki
subdistrict, Central Jakarta, was arrested at Ibis hotel in
Slipi, West Jakarta on Nov. 1, 2000 and then detained at the
men's penitentiary in Tangerang.

Meanwhile, the head of the defense lawyers, Irwan Kristanto,
said they had not yet made any decision whether to appeal to the
higher court.

"We will discuss it with Ken Ken first," he said while leaving
the courtroom still full of journalists. (01)