Man on trial for beating reporter

Man on trial for beating reporter

CURUP, Bengkulu: The local district court began on Saturday
the trial of a businessman accused of assaulting a reporter of
the Lampung Post daily newspaper.

Antara reported yesterday that the defendant, identified by
his initials HN, was charged in court with beating Muhammad Guruh
Indrawan on June 20 and causing serious injury.

Prosecutors said the incident occurred after Indrawan wrote an
article suggesting irregularities in a road construction project
for which HN was the contractor.

Indrawan said after the hearing on Saturday that he had been
intimidated, as well as offered money by the defendant, to drop
the charges in the run-up to the trial.

"I want this trial to continue because the beating of a
journalist is a show of disrespect toward the journalistic
profession," he was quoted as saying. (emb)