Lt. Agus Isrok summoned to testify in drug case

JAKARTA (JP): The West Jakarta District Court will summon Army Second Lt. Agus Isrok to testify before the hearing of an accomplice who was arrested along with him in a drug bust by city police last August, an official said on Monday.

"We will send him a letter inviting him to attend the hearing, which is scheduled for Wednesday (Feb. 2)," a prosecutor in the case, Ferry Mupahir, told reporters.

"Agus Isrok, alias Dekky Setiawan, will be summoned to attend the hearing in his capacity as a witness in the case."

Ferry said Agus accomplice's, Donny Hendrian, was tipped as the defendant in the case.

"Agus will not be tried in the court as a defendant since, as a member of the Indonesia Military (TNI), he will be prosecuted at Military Police Headquarters," he said.

"The Military Police are still questioning Agus over the case."

Agus Isrok is a son of former Army chief of staff Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo.

Agus, also a member of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus), was apprehended during a drug raid at a hotel in West Jakarta on Aug. 8, 1999. He and Donny were caught in possession of heroin, shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine) and over 6,000 ecstasy pills.

The hearing of the case will enter its fourth session this Wednesday.

"The agenda for Wednesday's hearing is to hear testimonies from witnesses of the city police detectives, who made the arrests of Agus and Donny Hendrian," said Ferry.

Ferry said the West Jakarta Prosecutor's Office would send the letter by Thursday to Agus' home in Bandung, the capital of West Java. The address is stipulated in the police report.

He said the prosecutor would use the name Dekky Setiawan, instead of Agus Isrok for the hearing.

"The police report only mentioned Dekky Setiawan, which was later recognized as the alias of Agus Isrok," said Ferry.

The prosecutor said the court would continue with the hearing on Feb. 2, although Agus had failed to appear in the courtroom.

"We should continue the trial session with or without Agus' presence at the hearing, since Donny's detention period is limited.

"A written testimony could substitute for Agus's absence in the hearing in case he is not able to appear in court," he said.

Ferry did not disclose when Donny's detention period would end.

Ferry did not disclose what defendant Donny Hendrian would be charged with.

Article 78 of the 1997 Law on Narcotics says a defendant in possession of first grade drugs, including heroin, faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail and a maximum fine of Rp 500 million (US$71,428).

Article 81 of the same law carries a maximum of 15 years imprisonment for trafficking first grade drugs. (asa)