Dutch suspect says he was framed in Ecstasy case
Dutch suspect says he was framed in Ecstasy case
JAKARTA (JP): A Dutch businessman standing trial on charges of
trafficking nearly 1,000 Ecstasy pills, yesterday told the
Central Jakarta District Court he was framed.
In his closing statement, the 56-year-old Dutchman said police
officers who apprehended him at a four-star hotel last April,
allowed the alleged ecstasy buyer to walk away free.
"I was framed up by a group involving at least 13 people,"
said the Dutchman who is a consultant for a local cement company.
He accused the arresting officers of being involved.
He said he was not aware Ecstasy was banned in Indonesia.
"I always thought Ecstasy was free in Indonesia because there
is no law banning it and besides, many people, including police
officers, have told me so.
"Had I known Ecstasy was banned, obviously I would never have
wanted to keep them in the first place."
Prosecutor Petrus Sambara has demanded a three-year jail term
and a Rp 2.5 million ($1,050) fine for the defendant.
The Dutchman was arrested in a hotel lobby on April 3,
allegedly just as he was about to sell ecstasy. The arresting
officers said they found several thousands more Ecstasy pills in
his car and office.
The prosecutor, however, is only pressing charges for
trafficking the 998 pills involved in the aborted transaction.
Article 81 (2) of the 1992 Health Law, upon which the case is
built, bans the distribution, but not the possession, of drugs
not registered with the Ministry of Health.
The defendant, from Gouda in the Netherlands, insisted the
6,000 pills found in his possession belonged to a Dutch
acquaintance he identified only as "Mr. Anthony."
Later, he received a call from a woman identified as Siska who
asked him to bring the pills to a hotel on Jl. M.H. Thamrin, and
to meet a man named Ho.
The defendant said he went to the hotel and met Ho, and 10
other people, who turned out to be police officers. He was then
arrested.
The Dutchman refuted the court testimony of two arresting
officers who said they did not have the chance to arrest Ho
because they were busy apprehending him. (16)