Five years jail sought for two police killers

JAKARTA (JP): The prosecutor in the trial of two men charged with involvement in the March attack on two policemen in South Jakarta in which one policeman was killed has asked the court to sentence the accused to five years imprisonment each.

Usman told the South Jakarta District Court yesterday that Amirsan Liskaloho and Zulkifli Nahumaruri attacked two policemen in the Blok M area on March 6, resulting in the death of one of the policemen.

"I demand that the judge sentence each of the accused to five years in jail for the offense," Usman said.

According to the prosecutor, Lt. Budi Prasetyo was killed in the attack, while Capt. Arman Depari survived.

Budi was stabbed in the stomach. Both Budi and Arman were students of the Jakarta Police Academy. According to the prosecution, the two policemen were strolling in the Blok M shopping area when they encountered a gang of hoodlums who engaged them in a heated quarrel.

Both Zulkifli and Amirsan hit and kicked the two officers, Usman said.

"The accused have violated article 170 of the Criminal Code," he said. "The maximum sentence is seven years imprisonment."

The fact that the accuseds' actions sparked public unrest, disturbed public order and caused other people to be injured should be taken into account in sentencing, the prosecutor said.

Neither of the accused was the killer of Budi, according to the prosecution case. Shortly after the attack, police shot dead Mario Lesbanu, who, with a friend, was believed to have stabbed Budi to death. Franky Jufrimaudu, Mario's friend, died in police custody. Police said Franky died of heart failure.

The prosecutor said that Zulkifli and Amirsan attacked the two policemen along with six other street hoodlums. The six alleged accomplices were Mario Lesbanu, Franky Jufrimaudu, James Rudi Lasatira, Reza Lawalata, Robinson Timisela, Idris Tuarita, Jimiko Danyanto and Stevanus Van Capele.

Reza and Idris, who were tried separately by the same court pleaded guilty yesterday. "I kicked a man in white shirt after finding Mario and Franky fighting with him," Reza said, adding that he wanted to help his friends.

Arman was wearing a white shirt when the attack occurred, while Budi was wearing a green shirt. Reza and Idris both denied kicking a man in a green shirt.

"I only kicked the man in the white shirt," Idris said, arguing that he ran away when people arrived.

Both Reza and Idris said that police officers forced them to admit to kicking Budi Santosa, but maintained that they had kicked only Arman Depari.

The attack on the police officers sparked a massive operation against suspected street hoodlums in Jakarta and elsewhere.

Police and military officers arrested more than 15,000 street hoodlums in Jakarta, Bekasi, Tangerang and Bogor. Some 700 of them underwent re-education courses at the city police and military headquarters and at Islamic boarding schools. While dozens were brought to court, most were never tried and were eventually released.

The trial was adjourned until Nov. 8. (29)