Girl friend of plaintiff admits to taking drugs

JAKARTA (JP): A female friend of Christian van den Bosch, a Dutch national being tried at Central Jakarta District Court for drug trafficking, told the court that she had sampled the illicit drug Eva supplied by the defendant.

"Yes I have tried the drug once before," testified Lies Lestari, alias Esta, in response to a question from prosecutor Suriansjah.

The 20-year-old Esta stated that she has known the defendant for about a year and that they are close friends.

The defendant and a Dutch national of Indonesian descent, who is being tried separately, were arrested in February during a police raid at the Borobudur Inter-Continental hotel coffee shop for attempting to sell several thousand Eva capsules.

The capsules containing derivat amphetamine, which under the law are registered as dangerous drugs, were to be sold for Rp 80,000 (US$37) each.

Esta's testimony seemed erratic as she repeatedly gave information that was inconsistent with her signed police statement.

On more than one occasion Suriansjah had to instruct the witness to face Judge Djamil Sularso in order to point out that her statements contradicted the police report.

Another witness who took the stand yesterday was Sgt. Sukirno, one of the police officers who made the arrests.

Sukirno reiterated much of what had been stated previously, going over the events on the night of the arrest.

He explained that on Feb. 6 six persons were participating in a sale of illegal drugs. Four of them, all foreign nationals, were arrested while two others who are reportedly Indonesian nationals escaped arrest.

Besides the 27-year-old Christian, another Dutchman of Ambonese descent by the name of Leonard Jacobus was arrested. The other two, Steven J. Bryner and Peter Karajin, were working as security personnel at the U.S. Embassy here in Jakarta.

The two Americans, under diplomatic convention, are being tried in the U.S. territory of Guam.

The defendant's lawyer, Azis Affandi, as he did before with the testimony of other police officers, called into question the police's inability to capture the two Indonesian suspects.

One of the two escapees, Irsan, has been identified as the potential buyer of the Eva capsules.

The final two witnesses yesterday were the last to be called by the prosecution. Entering its fourth week, the court will hear Christian's testimony when the trial resumes next week. (mds)