Four defendants admit to killing Brig. Gen. Tampubolon
Four defendants admit to killing Brig. Gen. Tampubolon
JAKARTA (JP): Four defendants in the murder trial of Brig.
Gen. T.M.F. Tampubolon confessed yesterday at the East Jakarta
District Court that they had killed the general.
The four defendants are being tried for killing Tampubolon
following an altercation in Cipinang, East Jakarta, on April 4.
In the three separated court sessions, Presiding Judge Soeroto
allowed Hendrik Setyawan, 25, and Rusdi Abdul Rahman, 24, to be
examined first.
Rusdi admitted that after stabbing the victim, he and Hendrik
ran to a hideout in the Pondok Bambu area, a district adjacent to
the crime scene, where they hung out until dawn before returning
home.
"We did not realize that the person who we had confronted that
night was dead until Hendrik's father informed us that a general
had been killed the previous night in Cipinang," Rusdi said.
Rusdi, a security guard whose bayonet killed Tampubolon, said
that he became terrified upon hearing the news.
"We voluntarily turned ourselves in at the Jl. Kebon Nanas
police precinct," Rusdi said.
Heated argument
The killing occurred after a car driven by Tampubolon nearly
brushed the two defendants who were heading home from a billiards
center. They shouted at Tampubolon, who turned his car back to
confront them. This escalated into a heated argument and finally
the killing.
Despite receiving 11 stab wounds, Tampubolon, the father of
five, still managed to drive his car to the Jl. Kebon Nanas
police precinct. He died half an hour later at Indonesian
Christian University hospital in East Jakarta.
Rusdi and Hendrik did not deny the contents of the dossiers
reread by prosecutor Muslim Sajidah.
In the second session, defendant Risdiyanto, 25, a cleaning
service attendant of a private company, admitted that he went
straight home after the killing. In the morning he went to his
work place where the police apprehended him at 9 a.m.
He also approved of the police dossiers read by the
prosecutor.
"I am sorry for what I have done," he said.
During the third session, Lukman Achmad, 30, an ojek
(motorcycle taxi) driver, told prosecutor Sutomo that he pushed
Tampubolon away when he saw Tampubolon grab Hendrik by the
collar.
"I pushed the victim because I wanted to prevent them from
fighting," Lukman said. He added that the general almost fell to
the ground, while his friends (the other three defendants) used
that opportunity to attack Tampubolon with their knives.
The autopsy signed by Dr. Yuli Budiningsih revealed that
Tampubolon's death was caused by severe stabbing that slashed his
liver and lung.
The trial was adjourned until July 21 when the prosecutors are
scheduled to read the proposed sentences. (03)