Police promise to bring case of Irwan to court
Police promise to bring case of Irwan to court
JAKARTA (JP): The police insist they have no plan to close the case of a driver who lost control of his speeding car and killed five students on Juraganan road near the Permata Hijau intersection two months ago.
Major Netson, head of the traffic unit at the South Jakarta police precinct, said yesterday the police will bring criminal charges against the driver for negligence, although his parents have paid compensation to the victims' families as an out of court settlement.
"I don't care whose son, he or she must be brought to court in the name of justice. I once brought a son of a former national police chief to court for a similar case," he said.
The accident took place at around 11:30 a.m. on March 22 in South Jakarta.
The driver, Irwan Effendi Wirahardjo, was with his girlfriend Swandawati when his sedan flew onto the sidewalk hitting seven junior high students, who were walking home.
All of the victims, aged between 12 and 15 years old, were first-year male students at the nearby Islamic Al-Ikhlas.
Two of the boys were flung 15 meters and over a 2.5 meter fence onto the grounds of a warehouse. The other five were found laying on a shallow drain near the sidewalk.
To illustrate the intentions of the police in handling the case, Netson said, "We're planning to complete the dossiers as soon as possible and then give them to the prosecutor's office for trial."
Slow
The police have blamed the slow processing of Irwan's case on the injuries he sustained in the accident, which they say have prevented them from questioning the driver.
But sources at the MMC hospital in Kuningan, South Jakarta, the expensive hospital where Irwan and San-San were treated after the accident, told The Jakarta Post recently that Irwan and his girlfriend suffered only minor injuries and that they are fully recovered.
Major Netson also acknowledged reports that police had not put Irwan, 21, a son of a batik producer, in detention.
"His father has given a guarantee to us about his son, meaning that he will take the responsibility if his son escapes," Netson explained.
Meanwhile City Police spokesman Lt. Col. A. Latief Rabar expressed surprise about this favor granted to Irwan.
"I have to check the case with the related police unit but by law, the suspect must be detained," he said. (bsr)