JSX bombers receive life sentences

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)