Prosecutors drop charges against Ria Irawan
JAKARTA (JP): Due to a lack of substantial evidence, the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office has dropped the case against starlet Ria Irawan, 24, who was accused of having hampered police investigations of the death of her ex-boyfriend in January.
"We have reviewed the dossiers presented by police and the results of investigation from a team of prosecutors, and decided that there is not enough evidence to bring Ria Irawan to court," said Suyoto, head of the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office.
Suyoto told reporters yesterday that a team he chaired had thoroughly reviewed the dossiers presented by police and also questioned 10 people in connection with the case.
"We found no compelling reason to charge Ria as there was no criminal activity involved in the young man's death. Therefore we have dropped all charges against her," Suyoto said.
Rifardi Sukarnoputera, 22, businessman and ex-boyfriend of the movie star, was found dead at Ria's house in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, on Jan. 12.
Police said that the autopsy done by the hospital showed that Rifardi died after consuming cyclobarbital, a kind of sleeping pill.
Barbiturates of this type are widely used in medicine as hypnotic and sedative drugs. Modifying their structure influences the power and rapidity of their effects and could harm the higher centers of the brain.
Punishment
The 24-year-old actress faced a maximum prison term of five years and a maximum fine of Rp 10 million ($4,700) for obstructing the police investigation of Rifardi's death.
She also faced a maximum prison term of one year and/or a maximum fine of Rp 1 million ($472) for failing to report Rifardi's possession and use of illegal drugs to the police.
The youngest daughter of famous movie stars Ade and Bambang Irawan also faced nine months or a maximum fine of Rp 4,500 ($2.10) for allegedly tampering with and disposing of material evidence found near Rifardi's body.
Ria faced another four years for allegedly destroying material evidence which was believed to have caused Rifardi's death.
"The police failed to seize the evidence which was believed to have been eliminated by Ria," Suyoto said.
However, Suyoto said that he would not blame the police or other parties for their failure to find stronger evidence to bring Ria's case to the court since the two agencies had worked hard in investigating the case.
"It's not anybody's fault," Suyoto said, adding that the case will be reopened if there is new evidence.
Suyoto's announcement ended months of investigation and many predictions as to how the case would likely end.
Hotma Sitompul, Ria's lawyer, said earlier that he knew the Prosecutor's Office would have to drop all of the charges against his client eventually.
"Given the fact that the police and the prosecutor have worked hard on the dossier for such a long time and still could not find enough evidence against my client, I was sure the case would be dropped," Sitompul told The Jakarta Post recently. (yns)