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)