Marijuana dealer gets four years

JAKARTA (JP): The North Jakarta District Court sentenced a 33- year-old man to four years in jail on Tuesday for selling two kilograms of dried marijuana.

Presiding judge Azinar Abas said the defendant, Zulkifli Yusuf, was arrested on May 3 in the Kalijodo red-light district in North Jakarta.

"City police officers arrested the defendant when he tried to sell the marijuana to a buyer named Rizal," Abas told the court.

He said Zulkifli obtained the marijuana from a man named Iwan and planned to sell it to Rizal for Rp 1.4 million (US$175). Both Iwan and Rizal are still at large.

The judge said the defendant was guilty of violating Article 78 of Law No. 22/1997 on narcotics which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in jail and a fine of up to Rp 500 million.

Prosecutor Eriyanato Puandanan earlier asked the court to sentence the defendant to five years in jail.

Zulkifli burst into tears upon hearing the verdict.

The father of two children told the judge that he regretted committing the crime and promised not to do it again.

"It's difficult to find a job at this time," Zulkifli told the judge.

Both prosecutor and the defendant accepted the judge's decision. (jun)