Oki tells court he stored Gina's body in LA locker

JAKARTA (JP): Harnoko Dewantono admitted in court yesterday that he stored the body of Gina Sutan Aswar in a locker in Los Angeles in 1993.

The unexpected admission came in the final stages of the Central Jakarta District Court hearing which is trying Harnoko, alias Oki, for the murder of a young Indonesian woman, an Indian businessman, and Oki's younger brother, Eri Triharto Dharmawan, between 1991 and 1992.

The panel of judges, led by I.G.K. Sukarata, asked Oki his opinion on the testimony given earlier by Gina's eldest brother Syaiful Ichsan. The judges asked whether Oki had taken the box containing Gina's body to U-Haul Storage in North Ridge, Los Angeles. Oki replied: "Yes."

But when the judges questioned whether this meant he was admitting the murder of Gina, Oki's lead lawyer, Henry Yosodininggrat, quickly objected, arguing that such incriminating questions should be reserved for when the defendant is under cross examination.

Oki, 32, in earlier press interviews, denied committing the crimes. He claimed that Suresh and Gina were both murdered by his brother Eri. He also said that Eri was killed accidentally during a fight with him.

The Los Angeles Police Department found the three bodies in the storage facility in August 1994 after more than two years of investigation. The investigation accused Oki of the murders, but the Indonesian government decided to try him in Indonesia.

In his testimony, Syaiful said that, in 1992, Gina had encouraged him and other members their family to join an investment project in Los Angeles which was being run by Oki.

"The offer made no sense because it promised a big profit in a very short time," Syaiful said.

He said Oki had agreed to make Gina a partner if she could raise US$200,000 for American Coastal Finance, a company run by Oki.

Two of Syaiful's sisters, Mutia Ahimsa and Fadia Mulyadi, and a friend, Mrs. Kurniati, agreed to chip in a total of $190,000.

"I couldn't stop them, because Mutia and Fadia believed that they were helping their youngest sister to start her own business," Syaiful said.

He said Gina left for Los Angeles in June 1992 to meet Oki, who had bought her a ticket to the United States. "That was the last time I saw her."

Syaiful said he went to Los Angeles in December 1994 to help the police identify Gina's body.

He said he was sure that it was his sister's body after matching Gina's dental records with the teeth of the decomposed, mutilated body.

He said he had never heard of the other two victims.

Earlier yesterday, the court heard the testimony of Dindin Benjamin Yatim who was once Oki's mother-in-law.

Oki's ex-wife, Anggia Hasti Benjamin, in her testimony last week, said she had no knowledge of the murders even though she knew Oki was violent. She claimed she had endured endless beatings during their brief marriage between October 1992 and October 1993.

Mrs. Yatim yesterday testified on the bruises that Anggia had said came from the beatings.

The trial was adjourned until July 20. (26)