Oki case: U.S. witnesses testify

JAKARTA (JP): The trial of Harnoko Dewantono, alias Oki, an Indonesian charged over a Los Angeles triple murder, resumed yesterday with three special witnesses from the United States testifying.

Witness Errol Valladares, 29, an American businessman, told the court he had seen Suresh Mirchandani, who was later killed, involved in a heated argument with a telephone caller.

The witness said Mirchandani, his business partner, told him after the phone conversation that the caller was Oki.

The witness testified through an interpreter employed by the prosecution's office.

The prosecution alleges Oki, 31, murdered his two friends, an Indonesian woman and an Indian businessman, and his own younger brother in Los Angeles between August 1991 and November 1992.

The Indian businessman, Suresh Mirchandani and the Indonesian woman, Gina Sutan Aswar were Oki's business partners.

Valladares said he overheard Mirchandani refusing the caller's request to meet him immediately.

"I heard Mirchandani saying he only wanted to see the caller on the following day," Valladares said.

He said he had the impression the two were talking about a dry-cleaning business Mirchandani wanted to sell.

Valadares said he did not know Oki and only heard Mirchandani repeatedly mention his name in the phone conversation.

Oki's lawyer Henry Yosodiningrat said just because the Indian businessman mentioned Oki's name it did not mean Oki killed Mirchandani.

"He could have been mentioned as a third person," the lawyer said. But the witness said Mirchandani confirmed the caller was Oki.

When presiding Judge I.G.K. Sukarata asked Oki his reaction, he said he did not understand what had been said.

The two other witnesses were American forensic experts who confirmed the material evidence the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) collected belonged to Oki.

Karen Chiarodit, an LAPD forensic print specialist, told the court she had examined handwriting found on a receipt from hiring storage space in Los Angeles.

It was written by a man called Samar Tawakal, an Indonesian citizen, whose hand writing was identical to a sample of Oki's writing sent by the Jakarta Police Detective Department, she said.

She said she examined another receipt from a hand gun purchase from a man named Taurus, 38, which was signed by Tri Harto Darmawan, alias Eri, who was Oki's younger brother.

Eri was allegedly killed by Oki.

The print specialist said the handwriting characteristics on both documents were identical to Oki's.

The third witness was LAPD finger print specialist Daniel Woo, who examined finger prints found on the plastic used to wrap the victims' bodies, and on the hand gun Oki allegedly used.

Woo said the finger prints found on the plastic and the gun had the same characteristics as Oki's.

The hearing had been adjourned for three weeks because the court gave priority to case from the July 27 riot involving Indonesian Democratic Party activists.

Presiding Judge I.G.K. Sukarata adjourned the hearing until next Tuesday to hear testimony from senior LAPD officers Ball and Ramirez. (05/07)