Police told to question family of deadly Metromini bus driver
Police told to question family of deadly Metromini bus driver
JAKARTA (JP): A noted criminologist has suggested that police
question relatives and fellow drivers who allegedly helped
protect Ramses Silitonga, the driver of a minibus which six
months ago careened into Sunter River with its 33 passengers.
Mulyana W. Kusumah, an executive director of the Indonesian
Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), said on Saturday that if police did
not take firm measures against such people it would create a
precedent whereby other people would do the same to protect a
fugitive.
"Police should give them a lesson," Mulyana said.
Ramses is the driver of a Metromini minibus plying the Senen-
Semper route which plunged into the heavily polluted Sunter river
on Jl. Yos Sudarso, North Jakarta, on March 6.
While 33 of his passengers were killed, Ramses, who survived
the accident billed as one of the most serious traffic accidents
in Jakarta over the past two decades, fled to his hometown of
Siborong-borong in North Sumatra, where he had been hiding for
less than half a year before he was apprehended earlier this
month.
When asked about the six-month manhunt, Mulyana said it is
possible that Ramses was extremely terrified after knowing the
impact of the accident.
"It is a matter between life and death for him," he added.
"The problem got worse because people who knew his whereabouts
chose to keep silent instead of handing him over to police," he
said, referring to the cool reaction of the public over police
appeals to reveal the driver's hideout after the accident.
Lt. Col. Heru Susanto, the chief of the North Jakarta police
precinct, who is handling the case, said earlier this month that
the police would investigate Ramses' relatives and fellow drivers
who were suspected of assisting the fugitive.
"They could be charged for helping a fugitive and giving false
information to police," Heru said, adding that Ramses could be
charged with violating chapter 359 of the Criminal Code on
reckless acts that cause death with a maximum of five years jail
term.(09)