Seaman faces 3 years in jail over marijuana

JAKARTA (JP): A seaman who failed to fulfill his dream of making the long trip to Kalimantan with 800 grams of dried marijuana was brought to trial at the North Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.

According to prosecutor Elly Rachmawati, Agus Usman, 38, deserved a three-year jail sentence and a Rp 3 million (US$400) fine for possession of the marijuana.

The defendant, Elly said, was caught red-handed in possession of a plastic bag packed with the drug by two police officers at Tanjung Priok Port on July 19.

"The defendant planned to consume the drug on his sea trip to Kalimantan," she told the court.

Agus, she added, purchased the marijuana for Rp 400,000 from a man, identified only as Dadang, on Jl. Kartini, Central Jakarta the same day. The latter is still at large.

Agus told the court presided over by Judge Mansur Nasir that he and his fellow crew members planned to consume the marijuana themselves "to pass the time".

"I had no plan to resell it," he said.

The defendant said that it was his first purchase of marijuana after his friends on the ship introduced him to the drug.

"I regret this and promise not to do it again. I hope my sentence will be shortened," he pleaded, adding that he had not met his wife and their three children since the arrest.

Elly charged the defendant under Article 78 of Law No. 22/1997 on narcotics which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in jail and a fine of up to Rp 500 million.

The judge adjourned the trial until next week to consider the sentence. (jun)