Lawyers say charges absurd

Lawyers say charges absurd

BOGOR (JP): The defense lawyers for two men charged with being
accessories to robbery and murder on the Jagorawi toll road said
here yesterday the indictments were unclear and should be
dropped.

In the defendants' separate trials, their lawyers Almuzfar,
Mansjur Abubakar and Castrio Pandji Indra told the courts their
clients, Erling Doly Wijaya and Heri Faisal, had not directly
committed the robbery or murdered the driver.

The charges say that Erling, alias Mikel or Handoko, watched
the robbery from his Mercedes, while Heri, alias Hendrik, climbed
out of a Kijang and smashed in the windshield of the victim's
sedan with a sickle.

Zaenudin Lesmana, a private company employee, was shot and
killed during the robbery and Rp 312 million was stolen from the
trunk of his car.

In previous hearings, the prosecutors said that Zaenudin was
shot by a friend of the defendants, Budiarto. But it was not
clear who stole the money from the Hyundai sedan.

Budiarto and two accomplices, Iskandar and Iedfil Jaya Anwar
are still at large. The prosecutors said Iedfil planned the fatal
robbery.

They said the defendants had violated Article 339 and Article
365 Paragraph 4 of the Criminal Code. These relate to
premeditated murder and violators may face the death penalty.

The lawyers said yesterday that these charges should not have
been laid against their clients, judging from their minor roles
in the crime.

The trials are apparently still attractive to the public. The
court was packed. Zaenudin's daughter, Visca, was among the
spectators.

The trial was adjourned until next Monday. (sur/24)