Robot's mother ready to accept verdict on him

JAKARTA (JP): The mother of alleged pedophile and killer Siswanto, alias Robot, said yesterday she would respect any legal decision on her son, even if he received the death penalty.

"I will accept anything the court gives to my son if he is found guilty," Dariah told reporters after meeting with her son at the Central Jakarta Police precinct.

The meeting between the 52-year-old woman and the suspect was sponsored by Najab Khan, the suspect's defense lawyer.

The meeting became emotional when the 32-year-old suspect burst into tears and embraced his mother. "Forgive me, Mak (mother)," Siswanto said repeatedly.

The mother could do nothing but shed tears for her son. "As a mother, I miss him. He rarely comes home," she added.

Dariah, who was accompanied by one of her grandchildren, said her son never informed her after committing a crime.

"He is a liar. He never told me about his crimes. If he had told me, I would have reported him to the police," she said, referring to the suspect's statements to the media that he always told her each time he killed a boy.

During police interrogation, Siswanto admitted to having killed 12 boys, but police found only 10 bodies. Eight were found in Jakarta and two in Kroya and Purwokerto, Central Java.

Dariah said she was shocked when she first heard about Siswanto's arrest on the radio. She said she has been suffering from headaches and stomach aches ever since then. She said she becomes ill whenever she thinks about Robot.

Siswanto, who was born in Ketandan village, Batang regency, in Central Java, was arrested on July 27 in a railway station in Tegal, Central Java.

According to police, between 1994 and 1996, Robot killed at least 10 boys, aged nine to 16 years. Four boys were found at the defunct Kemayoran airport in Central Jakarta, four boys in the Pondok Kopi area in East Jakarta and the remaining two boys in Kroya and Purwokerto in Central Java.

Siswanto's lawyer, Najab Khan, asked the Central Jakarta Police yesterday to perform a psychiatric test on the suspect.

"A psychological test is not enough to explain the mental condition of the suspect. A psychiatric test is needed," Najab said.

Dariah said that Siswanto was branded "the crazy" in his hometown because of his strange behavior.

Central Jakarta Police Chief Lt. Col. Abubakar Nataprawira, however, rejected the lawyer's request.

"We don't think the psychiatric is necessary, since the suspect has admitted the crimes," Abubakar said.

He said Dariah was only a minor witness because the police have strong evidence, including razors and rope used by the suspect in committing the crimes, along with the results of DNA tests.

Samples of Robot's spittle and blood have undergone laboratory tests at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital. The tests found that Robot's DNA matched with the DNA of the sperm found in one of the bodies. (jun)