Oki prefers to demand review of case

Oki prefers to demand review of case

JAKARTA (JP): Convicted murderer Harnoko Dewantono, alias Oki,
35, has changed his mind about seeking clemency from the
President and prefers to demand a review of his case, after the
Supreme Court upheld the death sentence imposed on him by the
Jakarta High Court in 1997, an official said on Friday.

Supreme Court Director for Criminal Cases, Djoko Sarwoko, said
that if Oki requested for a review of the case, it became the
duty of the prosecutors to request the President not to issue the
permit for implementation of Oki's death sentence.

"Prosecutors should officially ask the President to wait until
the verdict for the case review has been issued, by the Supreme
Court," Djoko told The Jakarta Post.

Central Jakarta District Court chief of court clerks Darwin
Siregar separately said on Friday that unlike the proposal for
clemency, a review of a case did not postpone the implementation
of the (death sentence) verdict.

"The problem arises if Oki is already executed, and the
verdict of the case reviewed by the Supreme Court states a
sentence of life imprisonment. Then what happens?" Darwin asked.

Darwin was speaking in reference to Article 268 of Criminal
Procedures on proposal of a review of a case.

Oki was convicted by the Supreme Court this year for triple
murders committed in the United States between 1991 and 1992.

Darwin added that Oki was sure he wanted his case reviewed,
and even drove away his present lawyers with his change of
decision.

He added that he knew there was no time limit for proposing a
review of the case according to existing regulations, but that he
himself and his subordinates were frustrated over Oki's erratic
decisions.

"He treats this like a joke. First he said clemency, now he
says review of the case. A few days ago his mother came, and
tried filing a proposal to seek clemency from the President, for
Oki.

As reported earlier, the convict received a copy of the
Supreme Court verdict on Oct. 4.

"The verdict, issued on June 29 this year, held that Oki had
been proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt of having violated
Article 340 of the Criminal Code on premeditated murder," a court
official, Heri, had said earlier.

The district court sentenced Oki to death on May 13, 1997,
after he was found guilty of murdering his Indian business
partner, Suresh Mirchandani, an Indonesian business partner, Gina
Sutan Aswar, and Oki's younger brother, Tri Harto Darmawan, alias
Eri, in Los Angeles, California, between 1991 and 1992.

The bodies of the three victims were found in August 1994 in a
warehouse locker at a U-Haul Storage facility in Los Angeles.

The locker had been abandoned for months.

During the 1997 trial, forensic expert Abdul Mun'im Idris
cited the Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD) forensic reports
which showed that Mirchandani had had his chest cut open and his
lungs and heart taken out while he was still alive. (ylt)