Oki interrogated by Jakarta police without lawyer
Oki interrogated by Jakarta police without lawyer
JAKARTA (JP): Harnoko Dewanto, alias Oki, was questioned by
Jakarta police yesterday, without a lawyer being present, in
connection with a triple murder in Los Angeles.
The city police's chief spokesman Lt. Col. Bambang Haryoko
confirmed yesterday that under the law Oki had a right to have a
lawyer present during the questioning.
But the suspect had waived that right, Bambang said.
He said it had been Oki who had insisted that he did not need
a lawyer at this stage. Bambang added that Oki did not give any
particular reason for his refusal to have a lawyer.
Bambang also denied the allegation, made by lawyers already
appointed by Oki's family, that police had been denying Oki
access to his lawyers. "There's no reason for us to stop lawyers
meeting with their clients, provided they follow the proper
procedures," he said.
There were conflicting reports yesterday about whether or not
Oki had indeed appointed a lawyer. He is believed to have met
with one or two of the city's top criminal lawyers but had not
appointed any of them as at yesterday.
Two lawyers who are believed to have met with Oki during his
police detention are Amir Syarifuddin and Hotma Sitompoel.
Oki's family, meanwhile, appears to have appointed lawyer
Ruhut Sitompoel to represent Oki in the murder investigation.
Ruhut is known to be closely associated with the powerful Pemuda
Pancasila youth organization.
Ruhut was not available for comment yesterday but his
assistant Tommy Sihotang confirmed that Oki's family had
approached his firm regarding representation.
"We just need to tie up some loose ends before we sign the
agreement to represent Oki, hopefully tomorrow (today)," Tommy
told The Jakarta Post.
Tommy declined to divulge details of the agreement. "I've
nothing to say at this moment, pending the final agreement," he
said.
Pemuda Pancasila chairman Yorrys Raweyai, a close friend of
Ruhut, meanwhile confided yesterday that the agreement was with
Oki's parents.
He added that Ruhut and Tommy had tried to meet with Oki at
the police station where he is being held, but that they had been
denied access.
Oki was arrested on Jan. 7 in connection with allegations that
he had forged a passport.
Over the weekend police expanded their investigation to
include the allegation that Oki had committed the triple murder.
Oki has been named by the Los Angeles Police Department as the
main suspect in their investigation of the murder of Gina Sutan
Aswar, a young Indonesian woman; Oki's own brother, Edi Tri Harto
Darwaman; and a laundry businessman of Indian origins. Their
decomposed bodies were discovered in a Los Angeles storage locker
last August. Police only managed to identify the victims last
December.
Indonesian police have said that they have no intention of
handing Oki over to the United States to face the murder charges
there, given that there is no extradition treaty between the two
countries.
They said Indonesian law permits an Indonesian court to try
its own citizens for crimes allegedly committed overseas.
Two Los Angeles detectives, identified as Ted Ball and Edward
Ramirez, are expected in Jakarta this week to help with the
investigation.
The police investigation made little progress yesterday, Lt.
Col. Bambang told reporters.
Bambang refused to comment further on the investigation,
saying that any further information would have to come from city
police chief, Maj. Gen. Mochammad Hindarto.
He added that the results of the investigation could take one
more week. (bsr)