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)