Nipah culprits sentenced to two years in jail

Nipah culprits sentenced to two years in jail

SURABAYA, East Java (JP): All four soldiers accused of
involvement in a 1993 shooting incident which led to the death of
four civilians in the East Java village of Nipah were found
guilty by a military court yesterday and sentenced to an average
of two years in jail.

In separate trials yesterday, all four were also dishonorably
discharged from the military. The four said they will appeal.

The heaviest sentence was given to Second Lt. Sudjak, who
received a jail term of two years and four months. The verdict is
two months less than the one demanded by the prosecutors.

As commander of the nearby military post and the detachment
involved in the Nipah incident, Sudjak was found to have been
negligent in his duties and to not have explained to his men the
circumstances in which firearms could be used, the court said.

Also yesterday, Chief Sgt. M. Said Riyadi was sentenced to two
years and two months in prison, two months less than the
prosecution's demand.

In the verdict, the judges found him guilty of the death of
Mrs. Mutirah.

Second Sgt. Bambang Edy Cahyono received a two-year jail
sentence for killing 14-year-old Nindin, while Pvt. Siswanto was
given a 19-month-and-20-day sentence for causing the death of
Simuki.

The fourth victim, Muhammad, died in hospital. The four
defendants were said to share responsibility for his death.

In its verdict, the tribunal, presided over by Judge E.M.
Yamini, found that all four had violated basic firearms protocol
and damaged the image of the Armed Forces both at home and
abroad.

The incident also eroded the public's trust in the Armed
Forces, the court said.

A total of 14 witnesses were summoned during the trials, while
an FN46 handgun and three rounds of ammunition were brought in as
evidence. Based on testimonies, it was established that 26 shots
were fired during the incident.

The incident took place in Nipah on the island of Madura on
Sept. 25, 1993. At the time the four men were accompanying a team
of government engineers assigned to take measurements for a
controversial dam to be built at Nipah.

Plans to build the dam were upsetting local residents, who
gathered to protest the measuring of the land.

Upon encountering the protest, Sudjak and his men opened fire
on the crowd of civilians. During the earlier proceedings, head
prosecutor Col. F.X. Sukiman argued that Sudjak then ran away
from the site without attempting to help the victims.

Sudjak also postponed reporting the incident to his superiors
until the next day, Sukiman charged.

During the trial Sudjak admitted his errors in handling the
situation and expressed regret over the incident.

Unlike prior proceedings, none of the victims' relatives were
present during the reading of the verdict. (15/mds)