Killers of Aa' Gym's students sentenced to life imprisonment
Killers of Aa' Gym's students sentenced to life imprisonment
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung
Three people were sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday for
killing two female students of popular Muslim preacher Abdullah
Gymnastiar (Aa' Gym). The sentence was in accordance with
prosecutor's demands read out earlier by S. Aworo.
Presiding judge Jihad Arkanuddin said that the stiff sentence
handed down to Yas Robert, Jasmiko and Evan Roji was because it
had been proven beyond reasonable doubt that they were guilty of
robbery with violence causing death.
"The sentence is meant as a deterrent in order that such a
tragic crime will not be repeated," said Jihad at the Bale
district court in Bandung.
After the trial, a commotion broke out when a crowd of
hundreds of people, mostly students from the Ahmad Yani Health
Education High School (Stikes) where the murdered students were
enrolled, rushed the three convicts and attacked them.
A policeman who tried to break up the fracas was hit by a
student. Several students were detained, but later released.
As earlier reported, on Oct. 7, 2004 three female students
from the Stikes school in Cimahi were attacked by seven thugs
riding inside a public minivan. The students were returning from
a Koran recital session at the Daarut Tauhid Islamic boarding
school led by Aa' Gym in Gegerkalong, North Bandung. Two of the
students, Ratih Rismayanti and Desi Sri Mulyati, were later found
dead after being thrown into the Cisaat River with their hands
tied behind their backs and gags in their mouths.
Indah Rahayu was able to free herself. The case attracted much
public attention because of its particularly gruesome nature.
The three students had machetes placed at their necks and were
threatened with rape if they screamed for help. The robbers then
tied up their victims and threw them off a 20-meter high bridge
into the Cisaat River.
The three convicts accepted the verdict, indicating that they
would not be appealing the sentence.
Besides arresting the three convicts, police also shot dead a
suspect in the same case, Yoki. Police are currently trying to
find the other three suspects -- Dodi, Budi and Anto.