Mom says Oki 'was violent'

JAKARTA (JP): The mother of 32-year-old Harnoko Dewantono, the triple murder suspect better known as Oki, once told the police that her son was violent as a child, a court heard yesterday.

The mother, Sekartini Handijaya, failed to appear in court for the fourth time yesterday, but the judge ordered the prosecutors to read the statement she gave to the police during an investigation last year.

"As a child, Oki often lost his temper. He kicked everything in sight and threw glasses and plates," according to the statement read by prosecutor Muhammad Yusuf.

"He had to have psychiatric treatment," said the statement.

Oki's former wife and a former girlfriend have also testified to the violent character of Oki, who is standing trial for the murder of three persons in Los Angeles between 1991 and 1992: his younger brother Eri Tri Harto Dharmawan, his woman friend Gina Sutan Aswar and Indian businessman Suresh Gobind Mirchandani.

Oki's lawyer, Henry Yosodiningrat, objected to the reading of the statement to the police in court, stressing that her failure to appear in court bespoke her unwillingness to testify in court.

But judge I.G.K. Sukarata overruled him, pointing out that Sekartini cited "health problems" as the reason for her absence.

After the statement was read, Oki, responding to a question from the judge said: "Almost everything she said was true." (16)