Police seeking new evidence in Ria case
Police seeking new evidence in Ria case
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta Police Chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata said
Saturday his subordinates were seeking new evidence to reopen the
starlet Ria Irawan case which has been closed for two years.
He said if new evidence was found the case which had been
closed by the Attorney General's office, could be reopened.
"We'll see later," he was quoted by Antara news agency as
saying after a ceremony marking the transfer of the Cimanggis and
Sawangan police subprecincts from the West Java police to Jakarta
Metropolitan police. The ceremony took place in Depok, 30
kilometers south of the capital.
The Ria Irawan case began on Jan. 12, 1994 after a man named
Rifardi was found dead in the starlet's house in Lebak Bulus,
South Jakarta.
Ria was one of several people questioned by police. However,
police said they lacked evidence linking anyone to the mysterious
death of the businessman.
She was then questioned about her alleged involvement in a
drug syndicate and was suspected of disposing of material
evidence in the death of Rifardi.
The prosecutors' office then issued an official letter halting
the case, saying police had failed to collected adequate material
evidence.
One of the items of evidence sought by the prosecutors' office
was a plate believed to have been used for mixing the drugs which
allegedly caused the death.
Ria was reported to have thrown the plate into the river.
Hamami did not comment when the prosecutors' office engineered
the halt of the investigation because the material evidence was
missing.
In a related development Hamami said the dossier on Zarina,
the woman notorious for being caught with almost 30,000 Ecstasy
pills, would be completed soon.
He said he was concerned about statements on the Zarina case
made by "irresponsible people".
"Those who do not know about the case should have given no
statements," he said.
Zarina who eluded police in August and ran to Houston, U.S.
was arrested in Houston and sent home last month.
According to the health law, those found distributing drugs
could be sentenced to a maximum 15 years in jail and fined Rp 300
million. (sur)