Prosecutor delays Robot's trial

Prosecutor delays Robot's trial

JAKARTA (JP): The murder and sodomy trial of alleged pedophile
Siswanto, alias Robot Gedek, was postponed until next week to
give the state prosecutor time to prepare his concluding
statement.

Prosecutor Suriansah told the Central Jakarta District Court
yesterday that technical problems had prevented him from
finishing his request for sentence.

The court agreed to postpone it until May 6.

The prosecutor has charged Robot, 33, with first sodomizing
and then killing six boys aged between 11 and 15 years.

"I need more time to prepare my statement because there are 28
testimonies and a lot of material evidence to consider," he said.

Outside the courtroom, Robot's lawyers Febry Irmansyah and
Nadjab Khan said the court had denied their request to have a
psychiatrist examine their client.

"The judges told us that Robot was well and sane enough to be
responsible for his crimes," Febry said.

He said the judges had decided that Robot could communicate
well in court and did not sound mentally disturbed.

But having an expert witness was crucial because it could
reduce the defendant's sentence, said Febry.

"If he is found to be insane he can be freed from all charges
as stipulated in Section 44 of the Criminal Code," Febry said.

None of the witnesses's statements nor the material evidence
supported the charges, said Febry.

"The prosecutor's indictment was based only on the defendant's
confession," he said.

The police say Robot confessed to killing 12 boys when they
arrested him last August. (12)