Four disco patrons imprisoned

JAKARTA (JP): The West Jakarta District Court sentenced four discotheque patrons yesterday an average of three months in prison for consuming Ecstasy pills.

The male defendants were identified as Erick Pariosa Setiawan, 20, and Asep Subhi, 18, and the females were Yulia Suryani Dewi, 28, and Sari Benah, 40.

Erick, a university student, and Asep, a graduate from a technical senior high school, were arrested at Parkir Discotheque on Jl. Mangga Besar on Aug. 23, while Yulia and Sari, a housewife, were arrested at Furama Discotheque on Jl. Hayam Wuruk on the same night.

Presiding judge Fadly Ilhamy said Erick, Asep and another man, Arsani, 19, were rounded up by policewomen and then taken to the City Police Headquarters.

Fadly said the three young men were detained because their urine tests, certified by forensic expert Mun'im Idries, indicated they had recently consumed Ecstasy pills. Arsani, however, was released after being detained for 20 days, but he passed another test at the police forensics laboratory.

Mun'im, who attended yesterday's court session as an expert witness, said that he had not yet received reports from the police that the result of Arsani's second urine test was negative.

"It's a bit impossible for any person to pass another test after failing in my test," he said.

Fadly questioned Mun'im's involvement in the police raids against patrons of discotheques in the city, quoting the Indonesian Medical Association's statement that such involvement was unethical for doctors.

Mun'im again said that his involvement did not violate the doctors' code of ethics, saying that forensic doctors' jobs are different from those of medical doctors.

He said a forensic doctor examined evidence which could be revealed to the public while a medical doctor examined a patient which should be kept confidential.

Prosecutor Suyitno earlier charged Asep and Erick under Article 60 (5) of Law No. 5/1997 on psychotropic drugs, which carries a maximum prison sentence of three months for drug users.

On Nov. 7, the Central Jakarta District Court sentenced 23 people, including 13 women, to two months and 20 days in prison each for taking Ecstasy pills.

The 23 offenders were also arrested on Aug. 23 in a police raid at Marimba Discotheque in Hotel Sentral on Jl. Pramuka. (jun)