Drug suspect verdict postponed

TANGERANG (JP): The defendant in a major drug case, who was due to be sentenced by Tangerang District Court, failed for the second time to appear before court on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Asnawi could only present a letter written by the defendant, saying that he was unable to attend the trial due to his poor health.

Presiding judge Silverster Djuma then ordered the prosecutor to check the defendant's health condition at Tangerang Pemuda Penitentiary on Jl. Veteran, which postponed the hearing for two hours.

"The defendant was shivering and his body was bluish, so it would be impossible to present him to this courtroom," Asnawi told the hearing, after returning to the courtroom.

Last week, the defendant could not attend the court hearing due to his poor health. Judge Djuma said on that occasion that he would read the verdict out on Wednesday even if the defendant was lying on a stretcher before the bench in the courtroom.

When asked why he did not force the defendant to hear the verdict despite being sick, Djuma said the panel of judges decided to postpone reading the verdict out until Monday for humanitarian reasons.

However, Djuma said if the defendant was still sick on July 30, the panel of judges would decide to force the defendant to the court room to hear the court ruling.

The defendant Robert Kenken, 32, a resident of Jl. Mangga Besar 11, Tangki subdistrict, Central Jakarta, was arrested at Hotel Ibis in Slipi, West Jakarta on Nov. 1, 2000 for allegedly smuggling 40 kilograms of shabu-shabu (crystal menthaphetamine) into the country from Hong Kong. (01)