House members deplore chair-smashing incident
JAKARTA (JP): A man who smashed a court room chair after being sentenced to nine years jail for his role in a murder, humiliated the court according to several House of Representative members.
Speaking separately, the United Development Party's (PPP) Ali Marwan and the Indonesian Democratic Party's (PDI) Budi Hardjono said the defendant, Opiu, was in contempt of court.
Opiu was found guilty of assisting in the murder of businessman Nyo Beng Seng, or Darmansyah Sujadi, and sentenced on Oct. 8.
Opiu, who was dissatisfied with the North Jakarta District Court's ruling, flew into a rage, stood up from his chair and smashed it on the floor and shouted "injustice" to the panel of judges who had just finished reading the verdict.
Marwan said Opiu should be punished further for his action.
Last August Agiono bin Syafran and Sudartono, alias Atok, were sentenced to 20 years and 15 years imprisonment respectively for killing Beng Seng. The court believed the killing was ordered by the victim's business rival, Hong Lie, who now lives in Singapore. Singapore has no extradition treaty with Indonesia.
Beng Seng, who owned a leading recording company PT Irama Tara and several massage parlors and night clubs in Jakarta, was killed in his mansion in Pluit, North Jakarta, in April, 1994.
The court found Opiu guilty of assisting the murderers by driving them to the victim's mansion and giving them Rp 5 million (US$2,200).
After the verdict one of Opiu's lawyers, Ruhut Sitompul, said the court was wrong in trying his client because he was a poor man. The lawyer said the strong and rich man, who instigated the murder, was not touched by the law.
Sitompul said the man, identified only as ES, should have been tried as the main suspect in the murder.
House member Budi Hardjono said yesterday if Sitompul's allegations are correct, the police should find the evidence. "If the lawyer's allegations are all correct, it is the law enforcers' morality which must be questioned," Budi said. (sur)