Indonesia rejects U.S. request for Oki's expulsion

Indonesia rejects U.S. request for Oki's expulsion

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has rejected the United States government's request for the deportation of Harnoko Dewantono, alias Oki, the main suspect in the Los Angeles triple murder currently in Jakarta police custody.

Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman put his foot down yesterday and said that the Indonesian government cannot expel one of its own citizens.

"It's a must for the Indonesian government to protect its citizens," Soesilo told reporters after leading a meeting on security with a number of ministers.

"Based on court procedure, he (Oki) has to be tried in Indonesia," Soesilo said, adding: "This is not about prestige!"

The U.S. government early this month asked the Indonesian government to deport Oki so that American police could bring Oki to trial in the United States. Oki has been listed by the Los Angeles police as one of their most wanted.

There is no extradition treaty between the two countries.

According to Soesilo, a formal rejection of the U.S. request is now being drawn up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Jakarta police lack important pieces of evidence to prosecute their case against Oki. Among other things, several guns and a hammer are being held by the Los Angeles police and they refuse to hand over their evidence.

"We're still asking the U.S. government to allow us to 'borrow' the evidence," Soesilo said.

Oki was initially arrested in Central Jakarta on Jan. 7 for passport forgery. Later, he was questioned and charged for his alleged role in the killing of his female business partner Gina Sutan Aswar, his brother (Eri) Tri Harto Darmawan and his Indian business partner Suresh Mirchandani, sometime between 1991 and 1992 in Los Angeles.

The three decaying corpses were found together in a storage locker and identified late last year. (bsr)