Murder suspect avows his innocence

Murder suspect avows his innocence

JAKARTA (JP): The prime suspect in the Bambu Apus murders said
yesterday he would prefer to die rather than be punished for
something he had not done.

"I ask you God to mete out the death penalty to me in this
court or seven generations of suffering for my offspring,"
Philipus read out at the East Jakarta district court.

If his claim of innocence were true, he said, let the death
punishment and the prolonged sufferings befall the prosecutor who
had done terrible things to him.

"Truly, I did not murder the Rohadis," Philipus read out the
defense statement he wrote.

A woman and her three children were murdered in their home in
the Bambu Apus subdistrict of East Jakarta on Oct. 2, 1995. Five
suspects have been detained and processed in three separate
trials.

Last Monday, prosecutors demanded that Philipus and his wife
Suparmi be sentenced to death. Eighteen years were demanded for
the other three who are minors.

According to Philipus, the court and prosecutor have not given
him a fair chance given the circumstances under which he and his
family were detained by the police.

"I told the court that I was tortured, but has the court cared
to take a look at my scars?" Philipus questioned.

Meanwhile, Philipus' lawyers demanded that Philipus be
acquitted of all charges because none of the witnesses presented
before the court witnessed Philipus committing the murder.

"The whole process of acquiring and gathering evidence until
investigation was filled with human rights violations," lawyer
O.C. Kaligis said.

A total of five lawyers took turns to read the 187-page
defense statement which lasted more than four hours.

They cited a number of things including the minors' alibis at
the time of the murders and the police's alleged conspiracy to
force Suparmi and her niece, Susannah, to sign a letter requiring
police protection.

The minors, Albertus and Clemens, claim they were in school
when the murders took place, the lawyers said, and this was
confirmed by their school headmasters.

Regarding the letter signed by Suparmi and her niece Susannah
asking for police protection, the lawyers said that the letter
was written by the police themselves.

"How could a lowly-educated woman compose such a well-written
letter?" the lawyers asked.

The lawyers also said that no blood was found around Philipus'
house before Oct. 4. Between Oct. 2 and Oct. 4 the rainfall was
heavy around Philipus's house and if there had been away blood it
would have been washed away, the lawyers said.

Philipus said his long knife which the police claimed was used
in the murder had been borrowed by police personnel on Oct. 3,
with no traces of blood. It was then returned and confiscated a
day later without Philipus' knowledge.

The lawyers pointed out that the defendant had been robbed of
his rights as a citizen when his house was ransacked by the
masses and his property looted.

The hearing was mostly attended by Philipus' relatives which
was apparent from the cheers when Philipus' claim of innocent was
read.

The prosecutor's response will be heard on Friday. (14)