Life sentence sought for African in Tangerang court
Life sentence sought for African in Tangerang court
TANGERANG (JP): A prosecutor demanded on Thursday that the
Tangerang District Court sentence an African to life imprisonment
for allegedly attempting to smuggle one kilogram of heroin into
the country from Pakistan.
Prosecutor Victor Silitonga said that defendant Namona Denis,
35, a resident of Malawi, Africa, had swallowed 73 capsules
containing one kilogram of heroin and smuggled it into the
country in April this year.
According to the prosecutor, Denis accepted a proposal from
someone called Haifan at Hotel Embassy in Karachi on April 11 to
deliver the heroin to Abjian in West Africa.
"But since the defendant had a visa to visit Indonesia and
Haifan happened to have an acquaintance in Pontianak, West
Kalimantan, the heroin owner then changed his mind and ordered
the defendant to take the heroin to Indonesia," Victor said when
reading out his 12-page sentence demand.
Victor said the defendant had admitted that he had been
promised US$3,000 should he succeed in delivering the heroin to a
man in Indonesia.
Denis reportedly then swallowed the 73 capsules one by one
before boarding Singapore Airlines flight SQ-152 in Karachi and
flying to Indonesia.
He arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on April
15.
Customs and excise officers Donny Harahap and Hendro Sumartito
said they became suspicious upon noticing that the defendant
looked nervous and was perspiring heavily. The two officers
handed over Denis to a medical team. Further examination at the
airport's Medika Center Hospital revealed that there were foreign
objects in the defendant's stomach.
The defendant was made to defecate four times on April 16,
upon which he expelled the one kilogram of heroin in 73 capsules.
Victor charged the defendant with violating Article 82 of Law
No. 22/1997 on drugs. The article carries a maximum punishment
of death.
"We conclude that the defendant is guilty and therefore should
be given a life sentence," Victor told the court presided over by
Judge Warsito.
Victor said the defendant's attempts to traffic drugs in the
country could endanger Indonesian's lives and that his actions
could also disgrace Indonesia's reputation worldwide and give
other countries the impression that the majority of Indonesians
were drug users.
The prosecutor also requested the court fine Denis Rp 50
million or sentence him to a further six months in jail.
The defendant, who looked upset, said he would prepare his
defense statement for the next hearing on Aug. 22.
On Monday, the Tangerang court sentenced to death four
foreigners -- two Nigerians, a Zimbabwean and a Nepalese, for
attempting to smuggle drugs into the country.
The verdict was harsher than expected as the prosecutors had
demanded that each of the defendants be given a life sentence.
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