Police to resubmit Adiguna case file this week
Abdul Khalik The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The well-connected businessman, a son of former state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina Ibnu Sutowo, has been detained at the city police headquarters since early January.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed the police to investigate the case thoroughly.
Jakarta Police promised on Monday to resubmit the case file of Adiguna Sutowo, the sole suspect in the murder of Yohannes Berchmans "Rudy" Haerudy Natong, in two or three days.
Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said he had ordered his officers to quickly resubmit the case file to demonstrate that they were serious in handling the case.
"We can complete all that the prosecutors asked us to do in one week. So, we can resubmit the case file this week. We hope that prosecutors will bring the case to court next week," said Firman on the sidelines of a regional police chiefs' meeting at the National Police Headquarters.
He added that the police had gathered enough evidence and witnesses to charge Adiguna in court.
Prosecutors returned Adiguna's case file to police last week, asking that inconsistencies be rectified.
Prosecutor Andi Herman said the main weakness of the case file submitted by the police was the conflicting information in affidavits by witnesses, who claim that Rudy was shot from a distance of around one meter in the Hilton hotel's Fluid Bar in Central Jakarta on Jan. 1, and laboratory tests by Mun'im Idris, a forensic expert from the University of Indonesia, suggesting Rudy was shot from several meters away.
The forensic test result opens the possibility of another person being involved in the shooting.
Andi said his office had asked the police to resolve the contradictory evidence by including statements by ballistic experts either from National Police Headquarters or city police headquarters in the case file.
Prosecutors also asked the National Police Headquarters to confirm whether the gun was licensed, and to reveal the owner of the gun if it was licensed.
Firman, however, did not say if the police had established that the gun allegedly used in the fatal shooting was licensed or whether Adiguna was its owner.
Adiguna, a younger brother of Ponco Sutowo, a majority shareholder of the Hilton, has been charged under Article 338 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years' imprisonment, and Article 1 of Emergency Law No. 12/1951, which carries the maximum sentence of death.
Ibox When does a shooting leave a trace?
Eyewitnesses in Rudy's murder have told investigators that the trainee waiter was shot from about one meter away, while a forensic test done by Mun'im Idris concluded he was shot from several meters away. Mun'im's conclusion was partly based on the fact that he found no trace of gunpowder residues in Rudy's wound.
But when does a shooting leave a trace?
According to forensic expert Handoko, close range is 75 centimeters, and far away if more than one meter.
"If somebody is shot in between that range then the shooting will leave a trace of, among other things, gunpowder around the wound," he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Handoko said the farther the target from the shooter, the less traces it leaves.
"Also, the smaller the bullet, the less it trace leaves in the wound. A .22 caliber bullet used in a shooting is considered very small, and at the range of 90 centimeters, we found no trace of gunpowder from such small bullet," he said.
"So, it is logical that they found no trace in the forensic tests (on Rudy) because the range could be over 90 centimeters.
"Also, it is illogical to conclude that Rudy was shot from several meters away because the bullet hit Rudy with such precision," Handoko said.