Eight-year jail terms sought for counterfeiting suspects
JAKARTA (JP): A prosecutor demanded on Tuesday that the Central Jakarta District Court sentence defendants Ismail Putra, 59, and Eddy Kereh, 53, to eight years for their alleged role in the production of Rp 19.2 billion (US$2.2 million) in fake money since July last year.
"Both defendants have violated Article 244 of the Criminal Code in the production and distribution of fake money as real banknotes," Soejitno told the hearing, presided over by judge Poerwanto.
The article carries a maximum punishment of 15 years in jail.
"The evidence and witnesses we have against these defendants are sufficient to prove that both are guilty of the crime," Soejitno said.
The case immediately drew the public's attention after defendant Ismail revealed in the initial court hearing that the fake money project was sponsored by then chief of the Indonesian Military Intelligence (BIA) Maj. Gen. Tyasno Sudarto, whom he alleged had told him that the money would be used to finance the activities of prointegration East Timorese militia during the referendum in August last year.
Soejitno refused to bring Tyasno before the court on the grounds he had enough evidence against defendant Ismail, while presiding judge Rasaldi Salmun declined to do so in an act of obvious anxiety, which a certain lawyer called fear.
Prosecutor Soejitno said on Tuesday that the defendants were responsible for having caused great anxiety to the public.
"The defendants succeeded in making the public doubt the authenticity of the rupiah they carry, in the midst of our weak economic condition," Soejitno said.
However, he praised both defendants for their civilized manner in the courtroom, and especially defendant Ismail who had never had legal trouble before.
Judge Poerwanto gave both defendants until Sept. 12 to come up with a defense statement, before the panel of judges takes another week, from Sept. 12, to decide on the verdict.
Besides the two defendants, the West Jakarta Prosecutor's Office has also named eight other defendants in the case. They are: Yustinus Kasminto, Junie, A. Khui, alias Ardy Sukarman, Ramelan, who was the alleged technician in charge of printing, Bambang, Triyono and Slamet, the reported machine operators, and housemaid Tono.
Among the evidence seized from the 10 defendants in the case was an offset Heidelberg printing machine, 1,000 fake banknotes of Rp 50,000 denomination and a number of receipts from the purchase of related materials.
Prosecutor Soejitno earlier said the forged banknotes made by the defendants were in the form of the 1995 edition, which carries the face of former president Soeharto.
The defendants, he said, destroyed Rp 15.8 billion of the fake rupiah after they learned it was poor quality.
The remaining Rp 3.4 billion was found with two men, he said.
The first Rp 1.6 billion was in defendant A Khui's possession, who is currently receiving medical treatment, and the Rp 1.8 billion was with a man, identified as Tyasno Sudarto, "and who is still at large," Soejitno said.
The group, he said, labeled the forged money with six serial numbers, namely FRM, LZN, LZO, RPM, TWR and YBD.
The suspects were arrested at printing company Jaya Abadi Prima at Jl. Palmerah Barat No. 141 in West Jakarta in February. (ylt)