Prosecutors close in on Adiguna

Prosecutors close in on Adiguna

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Prosecutors have requested that the Central Jakarta District
Court on Wednesday resume the trial of Adiguna Sutowo, a
prominent businessman charged with murder, rejecting the defense
team's motion to throw the case out of court.

Lead prosecutor in the case, Andi Herman, said that defense
objections put forward at the previous hearing, which called for
all charges to be dropped because they were deemed to be
"obscure" and "misleading", hinged on weak arguments.

"The defense's main objection are contradictory witness
statements (in the prosecutor's indictment and police witness
affidavits). These are the matters that have to be tried in
court," he said.

"Of course, statements from two witnesses do not tell the
whole story," said Andi, referring to the defense team's main
point of argument that statements from two key witnesses in the
police case file did not match those in the prosecution's
indictment.

Andi asserted that the prosecution's case did not just rely on
the testimony of two witnesses, but also on the testimony of 11
other witnesses, ballistic tests on the firearm allegedly used by
Adiguna, as well as autopsy results on the victim, 25-year-old
college student Yohanes "Rudy" Brachmans Hairudy Natong.

"Therefore, the charges are precise, clear and complete," said
Andi, who is leading a team of six prosecutors involved in the
case.

After the trial session, lead defense lawyer Mohamad Assegaf
said that the team was prepared to accept whatever decision the
judges' made on the matter.

Presiding judge Lilik Mulyadi adjourned the trial until
Thursday, when he will issue a decision on whether to continue
the trial.

Adiguna, the 46-year-old son of the late Ibnu Sutowo, who was
a former director of state oil and gas company Pertamina, is
charged with murdering Rudy, a part-time waiter at the Fluid Club
in a hotel owned by Adiguna's brother Ponco Sutowo in Central
Jakarta over a Rp 150,000 (US$16) bar bill on New Year's day.

According to prosecutors, Adiguna then took out his gun and
fired a single fatal shot into Rudy's right temple. Rudy had
only been working at the bar for a month.

Adiguna is being charged with two offenses: an act of
malicious, but not premeditated, murder, which carries a maximum
jail sentence of 15 years, and with the illegal possession of a
firearm, which is punishable by a life sentence.

The hearing, the third trial session in the case against
Adiguna, was attended by a standing-room only crowd of about 125,
including Adiguna's family and friends, who occupied the court
room's two front benches.

Outside the courtroom, about 20 women clad in white robes and
carrying posters in support of Adiguna, protested peacefully
against what they said was undue public pressure against Adiguna
because of his status as a member of the Sutowo family.

Assegaf, Adiguna's lead lawyer, denied mobilizing the
protesters claiming that he did not know who they were.