Policeman denies torture of suspected killers

JAKARTA (JP): A policeman testifying in last year's murder case of an entertainment tycoon denied a key witness' claim that he tortured suspects to extract confessions.

First Lt. Petrus Reinhart Galosse told the North Jakarta district court yesterday that he treated the suspects, Agiono bin Safran and Suhartono (alias Atok), "humanely".

"It was only a routine questioning. There was no violence involved," Reinhart said in a court session which attracted hundreds of observers.

Petrus refuted claims last week by witness Ruhut Sitompul's that he (Sitompul) saw Petrus beat the suspects until they were black and blue.

Petrus was brought before the court as a witness by Prosecutor James Pardede in the murder case of Darmansyah Sujadi (alias Nyo Beng Seng), once the owner of a leading recording company PT Irama Tara and several night clubs in Jakarta.

Petrus told the court that he was one of a team of officers assigned to arrest the two suspects at Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Nov. 24 last year, at about five p.m. He said the police had received word of the suspects' arrival from Hong Lie, a businessman in Singapore.

Hong Lie is alleged to have hired the two suspects to murder Beng Seng for failing to pay back a Rp 600 million (US$275,000) loan.

Petrus said the two suspects were handed over to other policemen when they arrived at the City Police Office on Jl. Gatot Subroto, in South Jakarta, at about seven in the evening.

He told the court, chaired by Judge Soemarjono, that he interrogated Atok on Dec. 16 last year, at about 11 p.m., while the other suspect, Agiono, was interrogated in another room.

"There was no pressure used (on the suspects) at all," he said, admitting though that there was no one else present in the interrogation room when he interrogated the witness.

He said that his interrogation was based on the confessions made by the two suspects during questioning on Dec. 1.

The witness said that the two suspects had read the dossiers before they signed them.

However, Atok claimed in yesterday's session that he was beaten black and blue, and that he could not read his dossier properly before he signed it.

Atok said that it was First Lt. Suparno, not First Lt. Petrus Reinhart Galosse, who interrogated him.

The trial of the Beng Seng case is approaching sentencing as each of the suspects and key witnesses has testified. The case was adjourned until July 27, at which time prosecutors will pursue sentencing of the suspects.(32)