Indictment against Yorrys lawful: Court

JAKARTA (JP): Presiding Judge Ismail Sebayang of West Jakarta District Court has rejected the request of the lawyer of Yorrys Raweyai and six others being tried for gambling.

He rejected the plea to annul the prosecutor's indictment, saying that it was already perfect.

"The board of judges decided to reject the request which states that the prosecutor's indictment is inaccurate and should be annulled, because it already contained all the required factors," Judge Ismail said yesterday.

Ismail added that the court will continue to examine the defendants according to the charges in the prosecutor's indictment.

In the previous session, lawyer Tommy Sihotang asked the presiding judge to annul the indictment not only because it contained an inaccurate description of the crime but also because it lacked evidence.

Tommy earlier said that he disagreed with the prosecutor's decision to charge Yorrys and the three defendants with violating several laws governing gambling.

"The fact that Yorrys was caught red-handed on July 29 at a gambling den in West Jakarta was not enough to prove, or charge, that he was organizing or making a living from the games," Tommy said.

Tommy stated that the case lacked sufficient evidence because the money and gambling paraphernalia were confiscated from the defendants' wallets as well as from a closed cupboard.

However, prosecutor Sukardi said that the confiscated objects are strong material evidence since all of them were seized under proper legal procedures.

Groundless

He added that Tommy's request was legally groundless and should be ignored, adding that the request is an age-old cliche typically employed to counter a prosecutor's statement.

Yorrys, the day-to-day chairman of the Golkar-affiliated Pemuda Pancasila youth organization, is being tried along with six other defendants for organizing games of chance and playing rummy and macok at a storehouse in West Jakarta.

Yorrys was arrested along with the others, but was released on bail shortly afterwards.

The seven defendants are being tried in two separate trials with the same board of judges and prosecutors. In the first session the judge tried Abidin, Halim Harto and Herman Chandra, three people accused as being the owners of the den.

Yorrys is being tried along with three other alleged gamblers: Sundoro Tan, Budianto and Hadi Mustapa.

Judge Ismail adjourned the trial of the first group until Oct. 27 and that of the second group until Oct. 31.

As usual, Yorrys, who was not accompanied by his wife, looked neat and ever cheerful. He and the other defendants even joked about the media reports concerning them.

He wore dark blue "Gianni Versace" denim pants replete with a blue "Guess" shirt. Before the court session began, Yorrys made a series of calls on his cellular phone. (mas)