Metromini driver gets 15 years

Metromini driver gets 15 years

JAKARTA (JP): A bus driver whose reckless driving last year caused the deaths of 33 passengers in North Jakarta was convicted of murder yesterday and sentenced to 15 years in jail.

The North Jakarta District Court found Ramses Silitonga, alias Honas, guilty of the murder of the 33 people and for causing bodily harm to 13 other passengers when he drove a Metromini bus which plunged into Sunter River on March 6, 1994, Antara said.

Immediately after the verdict was pronounced by presiding judge Soemarjono, 33-year old Ramses announced that he would appeal to the high court against the decision.

Ramses told reporters later that he accepted he was guilty of causing the deaths of the victims, but said it was never his intention to kill them as the court suggested. "I became a bus driver to earn a livelihood for my family, not to murder people."

Yesterday's conviction concluded a trial that had drawn wide public attention. The accident is one of the most horrific traffic accidents in the country to date.

The packed Metromini bus was speeding when Ramses lost control. It plunged into the highly polluted river. Most of the victims drowned in the dirty water.

Ramses fled the scene and was caught six months later in a village in North Sumatra after a massive nationwide manhunt for him, including a businessman's offer of reward to anyone who could inform the police of the bus driver's whereabouts.

The trial, which began early this year, was no less controversial despite many of the witnesses, survivors of the accident, failing to turn up to testify against him. There were unconfirmed reports that they had been intimidated.

The 15-year jail sentence handed down by the court was what the government prosecutors had asked for.

The sentence was intended to serve as a warning that the court would not hesitate to mete out stiff punishment against other reckless bus drivers.

Judge Soemarjono pointed out that Metromini bus drivers are notorious for their bad driving discipline.

The judge said he could not find any mitigating circumstances which would lead him to pronounce a sentence lighter than that sought by the prosecutors.

On the contrary, the defendant fled from the scene when he should have helped the victims, he said.

In addition to imprisonment, the court rescinded Ramses drivers' license and barred him from driving for 10 years from the time he begins his sentence. This additional punishment may be academical considering Ramses' sentence.

Intention

The judge said he agreed with the prosecutors' argument that there was an intention to commit murder on the part of Ramses.

He said the bus driver fully realized that he was putting his passengers at great risk when he drove the packed bus at high speed. He also ignored pleas to slow down from his conductor Pontas Pakpahan and from some of the passengers, the judge said.

Ramses' lawyer, Viktor Siahaan, said he would contest the court's verdict on the basis that if his client committed murder, there must have been intention to do so.

"The court never proved that there was any intention to commit murder," Viktor said.

He also warned that the verdict could set a bad precedent to the Indonesian judiciary because many traffic accidents could now be classified as "intentional murder".

The panel of judges at the trial consisted of Soemarjono, Thomas Soemardi and R. Soetatmo. Members of the government prosecutors were H.P.W. Soekewi, Haruddin and Chanifuddin.

Ramses' attorneys, besides Viktor, were Wesly Siahaan, Hotman Panjaitan and Sangap Sidauruk.

The closing session of the trial yesterday was also witnessed by the head of the North Jakarta Prosecutor's Office, K.B. Ketaren, and the chief of the North Jakarta Police Lt. Col. Edy Darnadi. (emb)