JSX bombers receive life sentences
JAKARTA (JP): Two former military officers were sentenced to life in jail on Wednesday for their involvement in the bombing of the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX), which claimed 10 lives and injured 46 others last year.
The verdict was presented on Wednesday at the trial of Irwan, 30, an ex-chief sergeant of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) and Ibrahim Hasan, 31, an ex-second corporal of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), in the South Jakarta District Court.
Previously, prosecutor Soejitno demanded the death sentence for both defendants.
Hasan did not attend the trial, which was jointly conducted by civilian and military judges, as he is still at large after running away from custody of the Military Police Regional Headquarters here last month.
On Monday, the South Jakarta District Court sentenced Hasan to eight years in jail for his involvement in hurling a grenade into the grounds of the Malaysian Embassy last year.
The presiding judge, Purwono, told the court that both defendants had violated Article 1, Paragraph 1 of Emergency Law No. 12/1951 for the unlawful possession and use of ammunition or explosive material.
According to the verdict, Hasan bought 43 bars of TNT and brought them to Krung Baro auto repair shop in the Ciganjur area, South Jakarta on Sept. 12, 2000.
On the same day, Hasan, along with Irwan and Ibrahim Amd bin Abdul Wahab, made a bomb containing TNT and RDX on the second floor of the auto repair shop, which is owned by Tengku Ismuhadi Jafar.
Ibrahim Amd and Jafar were sentenced to 20 years in jail each by the South Jakarta District Court on Monday for their involvement in the JSX bombing.
At 12 p.m. on Sept. 13, 2000, Irwan delivered the bomb to the JSX building driving a Toyota Mark II car. He set the bomb up in the parking lot located in the building's basement. It exploded at 3 p.m.
Purwono also said that Irwan had bought the Toyota Mark II car from a middleman several months before the JSX bombing.
The blast at the JSX building on Sept. 13, 2000 also damaged 174 cars and some parts of the building and caused the rupiah to fall to Rp 11,000 from a previous Rp 9,000.
"Both defendants tried to brush aside their responsibility by trying to escape detention. Hasan even managed to run away," he remarked.
As military officers, according to Purwono, they should have been well aware of the consequences of the bomb explosion in a public area. "It has been revealed that they aimed to hurt people," he said.
Irwan also threw a grenade, which failed to explode and shot a motorist while he tried to escape from Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta last month. He failed to run away and was rearrested.
Soon after Purwono had handed down the sentences, some officers carried Irwan away quickly, although the judge had yet to ask him whether to appeal or not. (04)