Officer questioned over Zarina's 'outing' at disco

JAKARTA (JP): The head of city police detention center, Maj. Sumartono, was questioned on Saturday over alleged drug- trafficking suspect Zarina Mirasfur's absence from the detention center on Nov. 15 to go to a discotheque, a police source said on Tuesday.

"The senior police officer (Sumartono), who plans to retire in another eight months, was so stressed out over the questioning that he received treatment for a day at a hospital here," the source said.

"I have no idea which discotheque Zarina went to or with whom. Nor whom she met at the discotheque. We just know that she got out of the detention center last Monday (Nov. 15)."

"When city police chief (Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman) heard about this, he blew his top. He was mad."

Head of city police internal affairs department Lt. Col. Mustofa said that to his knowledge Sumartono had not yet been questioned.

"This is the first time I have heard about this. I haven't heard about it at all," Mustofa told reporters at his office on Tuesday.

When the reporters went to another office, Mustofa called an officer in that office and apparently told him to deny anything about the incident.

All lies

When contacted about the matter, Zarina's sister Zamila said it was "all lies".

"That is just impossible. Zarina would never take such a crazy risk, particularly when the detention officers are really being nice to her. Before, they were so mean. This is just another ploy of high-ranking police officers to sully her name," Zamila told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

When asked if Sumartono had really been questioned, city police chief of detectives Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo said: "Who told you? I don't understand why you are asking me this," before switching off his cell phone.

In a related development, Zarina received a court summons from the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday to appear before court on Thursday at 10 a.m. for an initial hearing of her lawsuit against the city police.

Zarina's team of lawyers previously went to the National Commission on Human Rights and to the South Jakarta District Court to lodge complaints against Alex for having mistreated her and coercing her to sign police dossiers.

Officers who will be appearing before the court include police investigators Capt. Illyas Saad and Maj. Gusti Ketut Gunawa.

Earlier, Alex said his office would charge Zarina with drug trafficking as stipulated in Article 60 of Law No. 5/1997 on psychotropic substances.

According to paragraph C of the article, those found guilty of producing and distributing a drug that has not been registered with the Ministry of Health could face a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail and a fine of up to Rp 200 million (US$28,570).

"She does not have a clean record. She was caught before with nearly 30,000 ecstasy pills a few years ago, for which she was jailed. She's out on conditional release, and my officer gets her again with drugs in my jurisdiction," Alex said.

Alex said his men had not completed the dossiers on Zarina, who was arrested during a raid on an apartment in a hotel in West Jakarta on Nov. 11 together with nine other suspects.

Zarina's lawyers insist that the 27-year-old woman was there to stop a male friend using drugs. (ylt)