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)