Officer absent in Zarina's trial

Officer absent in Zarina's trial

JAKARTA (JP): A police officer, under whose escort a
defendant in an Ecstasy case escaped, did not turn up to testify
yesterday because he was sick.

Capt. Ade Sutiana, former head of the detectives unit at the
Tangerang police precinct, failed to appear in court because he
was in hospital with typhoid, prosecutor Rizia Jamil told the
West Jakarta District Court. The prosecutor did not say which
hospital.

The defendant, Zarina, made headlines when she escaped from
Ade Sutiana's escort between the Tangerang Police Precinct, some
26 km west of here, and the Jakarta Police Headquarters, on Aug.
8. Ade was relieved of his post soon after.

Observers say Ade is a key witness in the case.

The defendant, an actress whose real name is Zarima, was
arrested on Aug. 7 after police raided her house and confiscated
a safe containing 29,677 Ecstasy pills.

She left the country soon after she escaped her police escort.

She was rearrested in Houston, U.S., on Nov. 4, and was
brought home on Nov. 17.

The trial was adjourned until next Monday. (13)