Lawyers of Metromini bus driver reject murder charges

Lawyers of Metromini bus driver reject murder charges

JAKARTA (JP): The lawyers of Ramses Silitonga have objected to the prosecutors' indictment in which their client is charged with murder. Ramses was the driver of a Metromini bus that plunged into the Sunter River, North Jakarta, in March. Thirty-four passengers died in, or as a result of, the accident.

Viktor Siahaan, one of the lawyers, said the charges were tendentious and exaggerated.

"The traffic accident not only brought disaster to the victims but also to the driver," Viktor read from the rebuttal letter, which was presented to the North Jakarta State Court yesterday.

He said it was the first time in the history of Indonesian law that someone involved in a traffic accident had been charged with murder. "It is unprecedented, and therefore we strongly reject the charges," he said, as quoted by Antara.

Viktor also queried the fact that Ramses had not been accompanied by a lawyer during police questioning.

"Everybody facing a prison sentence of more than five years has the right to be accompanied by a lawyer both during police questioning sessions and during trial," he asserted.

Viktor asked the judge to dismiss the current charges against his client, saying that they were groundless.

During the court's first sitting last week, the prosecutors told the court that the death of the 34 passengers should be viewed as willful murder on the part of Ramses, alias Honas, alias Ucok Sitompul.

The prosecutors also charged Ramses with criminally reckless driving. That offense is punishable with five years imprisonment.

The prosecutors said Ramses had ignored repeated requests that he slow down. The requests had come both from his own conductor and from a number of passengers.

It is alleged that on March 6 last year Ramses drove the bus along Jl. Yos Sudarso at a speed of between 80 and 90 kilometers per hour. According to the prosecution case, he continued speeding despite pleas from conductor Pontas Pakpahan and a number of passengers, who had reminded him that there were children aboard.

Ramses eventually lost control of the bus and it veered over a pedestrian crossing before plunging into the Sunter River. Twenty people died at the site of the accident and 13 others died subsequently in hospital.

Ramses, 33, fled from the scene, and a nationwide manhunt was launched by police. A number of businessmen even offered rewards for anyone who could provide police with information of his whereabouts.

Police finally managed to arrest the culprit in August following a tip from someone who informed police that Ramses was hiding in North Sumatra, his home province. Police said Ramses had been living in the village of Tanjung Mulia in Kampung Rakyat district, Labuhan Batu regency. He had been working for PT Pemudjur, a timber mill, under the name of Ucok Sitompul.

Yesterday's trial drew a large crowd who packed the court room. The trial will continue on Thursday.(bas)