Man denies forcing wife to become a prostitute

Man denies forcing wife to become a prostitute

JAKARTA (JP): A man alleged to have sold his wife into
prostitution denied the charges in court yesterday in a last
ditch attempt at his defense.

Yudhi Haryadi Sutikno told Judge Doris A.A. Taulo of the South
Jakarta District Court yesterday that the prosecutor's
accusations are based on faulty evidence.

"Four witnesses, who are suspected to have employed my wife,
Rini Sundari as a call girl, have testified that they do not know
me, so there is no proof to try me for forcing my wife to become
a prostitute," Yudhi said during the trial session.

The four witnesses are Hartono Setyawan, a panderer, who was
sentenced to nine months imprisonment by the same court in
December last year for running an exclusive brothel in Jl.
Prapanca 4, South Jakarta; Kho Ghay Goen, Hartono's assistant;
Ari Dewanto, Hartono's driver, and Yuni Saputra, a 27-year old
divorcee. Yani is alleged to have employed Rini as a call girl
from 1986 to 1987.

During previous court sessions, the four witness testified
that they knew Rini, but none of them recognized Yudhi. Yuni even
told the judge that she is a business woman and a housewife, not
a procurer.

Hartono, Kho and Ari knew Rini as one of the prostitutes, who
worked at the Prapanca 4 brothel from 1987 to 1990 and from 1993
to 1994. But Yuni told the judge that she knew Rini only as a
young woman who was one of her guests.

Yudhi also said it is impossible that his wife, Rini, was
working as a call girl in 1990 because that year Rini was
recuperating after having a caesarean section at the Cempaka
Putih Islam Hospital.

"Your Honor, I request that you exonerate me from all
charges," Yudhi said.

On Feb. 1, prosecutor Esther Datu Rante requested that the
judge sentence Yudhi to one-and-a-half years imprisonment.

Esther said Yudi violated Article 297 of the Criminal Code,
which states that any person found guilty of trafficking in
women and under-aged boys faces a maximum of six years
imprisonment.

Arrest

Yudhi was arrested by police after his wife, Rini Sundari, 25,
the mother of his two children, reported to police that she was
forced by her husband to work as a prostitute from 1986 until
early 1994.

In an earlier court session Rini told the judge that she
married Yudi when she was 14 years old, on May 29, 1984, in
Prembun village, Central Java.

The prosecutor said that Rini was employed by panderer Yuni
Saputra from 1986 to 1987 and by Hartono Setyawan from 1987 to
1990.

Rini has said that it was her love for her husband which made
her keep working as a prostitute.

She also said her husband used to beat her and that he once
threatened to pour acid over her face if she refused to work as a
prostitute.

Rini said it was Yudi who drove her to the various hotels and
motels where she operated as a prostitute.

Yudi, who came into court without a lawyer, looked relaxed. He
did not cover his face with his hands or put his head down when
photographers and television cameramen took focused on him.

The presiding judge decided that the verdict will be read on
Feb. 20. (mas)