Ex-soldier tried over gun smuggling

TANGERANG (JP): The Tangerang District Court began on Friday the trial of Masdiki Suparto, 57, a retired Army captain charged with bringing an illegal firearm into the country.

Prosecutor Budiahningsih told the hearing the defendant has violated Article 1 of the 1951 Emergency Law, a crime which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment.

Budiahningsih said the defendant was arrested on arrival from Cambodia by custom and excise officials at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Dec. 26 last year after an X-ray check detected an FN gun in his bag.

"When asked about the firearm, the defendant said the gun belonged to his friend in Cambodia," Budiahningsih said.

Masdiki told the hearing that after retiring from the Indonesian Military (TNI), he found a job as a security guard in a telecommunications company in Cambodia.

"I returned to Indonesia to celebrate Idul Fitri with my family in East Java. Before I departed for Indonesia, my boss, Yanwar, gave me a package," Masdiki told the court.

"I only realized what was inside this package after the custom and excise officials opened it." (41/ylt)