Lawyer of murder suspect says indictment sloppy

Lawyer of murder suspect says indictment sloppy

JAKARTA (JP): The defense lawyer for a man charged with the
beheading of Dr. Riyama Yamoga said Monday the indictment is so
sloppy the case should be thrown out of court.

Alamsyah Hanafiah, the lawyer for defendant Gunadi Tjahyo
Wargo, told the North Jakarta District Court that the indictment,
read by prosecutors Omsin Subarkah and Yuswa Kusumah , failed to
fulfill the basic requirements stipulated in Article 143, section
2b of the Criminal Code Procedures.

Alamsyah said the indictment against his client also
contradicted police dossiers. Aside from that, he said, the
indictment was not supported by important documents, such as the
official report on the police search of the scene of the murder
and the report from the police criminology laboratory.

Gunadi, 45, a soothsayer, is accused of killing Riyama, 44,
a physician and mother of two, who had just divorced her husband
to marry her clandestine lover Ridwan Surya Danu, a married man
and former executive of the defunct Bank Majapahit. Ridwan is
also a commissioner of a car showroom.

After she divorced her husband, Riyama reportedly pressured
Ridwan to divorce his wife as well and marry her. Ridwan
responded to such pressure by ordering Gunadi, who was also
reportedly Riyama's lover, to kill her.

Police investigators came to the conclusion that Ridwan was
also motivated to order the killing by a Rp200 million
(US$92.807) debt to Riyama for financing his automobile business.

The defense lawyer also pointed out that the indictment did
not include the police report, which stated that after the
accused beheaded Riyama, he went to the bathroom to wash the
blood stains off his clothes and body.

The indictment, which was read in the previous trial session
on May 23, stated that Gunadi took several things from Riyama's
cupboard after he committed the murder.

The lawyer also said that the indictment did not mention the
blood stains in Riyama's car, which was used by Gunadi after he
allegedly committed the murder.

"The indictment only attached the hospital report which merely
stated that the victim's death was caused by a sharp object.
However, the report from the police criminal laboratory carries
more details, such as about fingerprints," he said

He said the police report should be the main source of the
indictment as it revealed the truth.

Machete

"Possibly they will find other fingerprints, either on the
golok (machete) or on the victim's bedroom door, which will
probably lead to new clues that will show that Gunadi may not be
the real killer," Alamsyah said.

The machete allegedly used by Gunadi to behead Riyama has not
been presented in court as evidence because Gunadi allegedly
threw it into the Kalideres river right after the murder.

Gunadi's trial was adjourned until today by presiding Judge
Sumarjono to give prosecutors time to formulate their arguments
against the defense lawyer's statement.

Earlier, in a separate trial session, Ridwan appeared to hear
the response of prosecutors Omsin and Yuswa to the defense
statement read by Ridwan's lawyer, Bambang Hartono.

The prosecutors in that trial urged the judges to accept the
indictment, saying it was legally complete and accurate.

Bambang explained that his defense statement demanded the
court to annul the accusations due to their inaccuracy and
incompleteness.

Ridwan's trial session was adjourned until Thursday, when
presiding Judge Surti Hari Pramono will decide whether to accept
the prosecution's indictment of the defendant. (03)